Confidential SPORT: Rafinha not expected back until the end of November
The Brazilian has not been seen at the training ground in recent weeks
He has been out for over five months and there's no sign of a return
Getting news on Rafinha's fitness is almost impossible and not just because of the club's politics on giving little away but because the player has not appeared at the Barcelona training ground since Sept. 8.
The only information available comes from the player's social media accounts, where he's training in the gym. The most recent post arrived on Wednesday.
With this context, SPORT have tried to find out what the situation is. To begin with, for the last two weeks, Rafinha has been continuing with his rehabilitation under the supervision of the surgeon Ramon Cugat, who performed the initial operation on the midfielder's knee, with a downtime of four months given.
The reality, however, has been much crueler for the player. Five months and a half after the injury, he has stil not stepped foot on the pitch. And the sensations don't suggest a comeback is imminent and another operation was even been talked about if things don't improve.
Finally, that option was discared, meaning another three months out (nine in total) and giving the end of November as the date when Rafinha could reappear. In any case, that's looking at it optimistically and presuming there are no setbacks.
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