The coach does not want to risk himBarcelona star Raphinha is on the brink of missing Saturday’s La Liga clash with Getafe, leaving Hansi Flick to line up a replacement in the centre-forward role. According to Mundo Deportivo, the Brazilian trained apart from his team-mates for a second day running. He returned from Australia with swelling in his right thigh after his second match with Brazil. A place in the starting line-up against Getafe now looks all but impossible. Neither the medical staff nor the technical staff want to gamble on Raphinha, and the player himself has learned from past experience that it is better not to rush back until he is fully recovered.Next matchesBARLaLiga11 Oct 202600:30GETSo Flick must now find someone to lead the line against Getafe at the Camp Nou.Raphinha has been flying. He tops the La Liga scoring charts with 12 goals, 14 in all competitions across eight matches, including the Champions League tie against Feyenoord. To cover the gap, his coach has three options.Gabriel Jesus looks the natural choice. The forward sat out the international window after Carlo Ancelotti left him out of the Brazil squad, so he arrives fresh.Anthony Gordon offers Flick another route. The coach has mostly used the Englishman on the left wing, but his sharpness in front of goal, scored in each of his last four England matches and enjoying his best start to a season, makes him a viable stand-in through the middle.Then there is Dani Olmo. The Spain international has yet to score for Barcelona this season, though he has already laid on three assists in eight appearances.Olmo too is in fine touch, having supplied three assists in his three UEFA Nations League outings with Spain during the last international break.Whether Flick clears up the doubt over Raphinha at Friday’s pre-match press conference remains to be seen.
