Hansi Flick confirms Araujo and Raphinha out of Osasuna clash
The two South Americans won’t be part of the squad
Hansi Flick confirmed in a press conference on Wednesday what we’ve already known for a while: Ronald Araujo and Raphinha will not feature in Barcelona’s rearranged La Liga clash with Osasuna on Thursday.
Araujo did not play for Uruguay in Tuesday’s World Cup Qualifier against Bolivia but still made the long trip with his teammates, while Raphinha played for Brazil in the Superclasico against Argentina in a match that ended on Wednesday in Spanish time.
Now they have to fly back to Catalonia and recover, and Flick has made it clear he is prioritizing the rest of his two South American stars and will count on his other available players to get the three points against Osasuna.
“They won’t play or be in the team. They’re out. The flight is long and it’s not the most optimal situation. They have to train. They have to recover and train, and then we’ll see on Sunday. But the team is fantastic, and we have to fight for the three points. When we win and get three more points, it will be the best reaction we can give.”
It’s safe to assume Araujo and Raphinha will be involved in some capacity in Sunday’s clash with Girona, but resting them on Thursday is absolutely the right decision. Playing on Thursday is bonkers anyway, and risking two players who would have barely had any time to sleep before facing Osasuna is clearly not the right thing to do.
Source: barcablaugranes.com
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