Raphinha's Recovery: Brazil Faces World Cup Dilemma
Brazil’s training base in New Jersey finally saw a familiar figure back on the grass. Raphinha, boots on and ball at his feet, cut a determined figure as he worked through his first on-pitch session since a right thigh injury halted his World Cup campaign before it had really begun.
No teammates. No full drills. Just the Barcelona winger, a physio, and a carefully managed routine. For Brazil, it was still a significant sight.
At 29, Raphinha has spent the last days almost entirely in the hands of the Selecao medical staff, chasing fitness while the rest of the squad enjoyed a scheduled break until Wednesday afternoon. While others switched off, he stayed on the grind, pushing through an intensive rehabilitation programme designed to give him a chance of influencing the knockout rounds.
The images of him moving freely and striking the ball offered Brazil a lift, but nobody inside the camp is getting carried away. The coaching staff, mindful of the calendar and his history, are choosing caution over emotion. Lucas Paqueta’s own thigh issue, picked up against Japan, has only sharpened that stance. With one key player already in the treatment room, the last thing Carlo Ancelotti wants is to lose another by rushing him back.
ESPN reports that, despite the encouraging progress, Raphinha remains a serious doubt for the round-of-16 meeting with Norway. The medical department is tracking his data daily, adjusting workloads, testing his limits. Ancelotti is expected to wait as long as possible before deciding whether to name the former Leeds United winger in the matchday squad or to hold him back with a potential quarter-final in mind.
The dilemma is complicated by a worrying pattern. This is the fifth time in the 2025-26 season that Raphinha has suffered a problem in the same area. Barcelona and Brazil have both had to cope without him at various points due to recurring muscular strains and knocks. Each comeback has been followed by another interruption. Every sprint now comes with a calculation.
The latest injury struck during Brazil’s 3-0 win over Haiti in Philadelphia. Raphinha’s reaction told its own story. He left the pitch distraught, fearing that his World Cup might have ended in the group stage. Initial scans, at least, brought a measure of relief: a muscle strain, not a full tear. The door to a return stayed open, but only if his body tolerates a sharp rise in workload this week.
Inside the camp, according to ESPN, there is a quiet confidence that Brazil can handle the last-16 tie without gambling on him. The squad depth, long talked up, is now being tested. In his place, the young Rayan has stepped into the starting XI, giving Ancelotti a different profile on the flank — fresher legs, a more direct threat, a slightly altered rhythm to Brazil’s attack.
That flexibility buys Brazil time. It also underlines the priority: Raphinha fully fit for the decisive stages, not half-ready for the next game. With the knockout bracket opening up and the stakes rising, Brazil must decide whether to trust their depth for one more night or roll the dice on a fragile but potentially decisive talent.
