Barcelona captain Raphinha reportedly underwent surgery after the defeat to Real Madrid in La Liga in October to remove a painful cyst from his ear.
A report from Globo in Brazil claims that Raphinha had the operation on October 26th after previously suffering a blow that had caused a wound. The area had subsequently become inflamed, resulting in severe pain.
The report adds that Barcelona had been expecting Raphinha to wait until the international break to have the surgery, meaning he would miss international duty,
but that the captain decided to bring it forward so he would be available for the Selecao.
Carlo Ancelotti and staff are said to “value the player’s decision to bring forward surgery, even against Barcelona’s wishes” so he would be available to play during the international break.
Raphinha missed a few training sessions after the procedure but no game time with Barcelona. He returned in the win over Alaves, wearing a protective headband, and scored a brace in a 6-1 victory.
The Brazilian also played in Barcelona’s wins over Aston Villa in the Champions League and Atletico Madrid in La Liga. He has since jetted out to the Far East to link up with Brazil for friendlies against Japan and Singapore.
Barcelona are said to be “aligned” with Brazil on the need to manage his minutes over the international break after seeing their captain return injured last time out, while Raphinha has said he’s spoken with Carlo Ancelotti about his game time and has told fans there’s no need for concern.
