Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has confirmed that Ronald Araujo, Raphinha and Pau Cubarsi will all be absent for Thursday’s controversial La Liga match against Osasuna.
The Catalan team had initially been set to face Osasuna on March 8, but the match was postponed due to the tragic news that the club’s first-team doctor Carles Minarro Garcia had passed away.
La Liga have rescheduled the match for March 27, and Barcelona will be missing both Araujo and Raphinha due to international commitments.
Raphinha played the full 90 minutes of Brazil’s 4-1 loss to Argentina on Tuesday, while Araujo was an unused substitute for Uruguay against Bolivia, but the centre-back will still be missing due to the recovery progress after a long flight.
Barcelona will also be unable to call upon Cubarsi, with the teenager picking up an ankle issue while representing Spain in the first leg of their UEFA Nations League quarter-final with Netherlands last week.
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Araujo, Raphinha, Cubarsi will miss Barcelona’s clash with Osasuna
However, there is a boost for Barcelona, with Inigo Martinez being declared fit after a knee issue, and the Spaniard will be joined in the middle of the defence by Eric Garcia for the clash with Osasuna.
“Raphinha and Araujo will not be in the squad tomorrow. They have a long flight and they have to recover,” Flick told reporters during his press conference on Wednesday.
“Eric and Inigo will be the centre-backs for tomorrow’s game. Cubarsi’s injury is not important but we prefer him to rest.”
Barcelona will again be missing long-term absentees Marc Bernal and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, while Marc Casado and Andreas Christensen are also unavailable, but the Catalan team have no fresh injury concerns from the international fixtures.
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Lewandowski declared fit for Osasuna clash
There had been some concern surrounding Robert Lewandowski, with Barcelona’s leading goalscorer picking up a minor issue while representing Poland during the international break.
However, Flick has insisted that the experienced striker is available for selection.
“He is fit, he can play. We will decide tomorrow,” said the manager. “I didn’t see any difference in training today. We have to manage the players’ minutes, it’s a difficult thing to say who will play.
“I had a meeting with the staff and the physiotherapists. We talked about what to do for the players to recover better and they told me that they are all fine and that they can play every 2-3 days. I leave it in their hands.”
Barcelona recorded a 4-2 victory over Atletico Madrid before the international break, and the Catalan outfit are top of the La Liga table, level on points with second-placed Real Madrid, with a game in hand.
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