How does Barcelona compensate for Rafinha’s absence? Flick has the answer

Barcelona’s German coach, Hansi Flick, believed that English winger Marcus Rashford has a “great opportunity” to shine with the absence of Brazilian Rafinha due to injury, before facing Atletico Madrid on Saturday (23:00 UAE time) in the Spanish Football League.

Rafinha will be absent until next May due to a hamstring injury he suffered during his country’s Brazil national team’s friendly match against France, which opens the door for Rashford, who is on loan from Manchester United, and who performed outstandingly in the first half of the season, but did not participate much in recent weeks.
Flick said, “I said it before, I am happy with Marcus’ performance. He performed well. In recent weeks, he has faced some problems due to injury, and we have to take care of that.”
He added that Rashford will face competition from other players for the opportunity to play in place of Rafinha: “It is a great opportunity for him to show his quality again, but we have other options as well. Firmin Lopes can play there, and Gavi can also play there, and I am very happy that Gavi has returned to the level he shows in training.”
It is noteworthy that Barcelona has the option to buy Rashford for $35 million from United, but has not yet decided to activate this option.
Flick indicated that he allowed Rafinha to spend a few days in Brazil with his family to help him recover from his injury.
Rafinha will miss several league matches, and will also miss the Champions League quarter-finals against Atletico Madrid, where the first leg will be held on Wednesday.
The German coach continued, “This is not the right time for this injury, for us and for him, and he was sad because of that.”
He continued, “I spoke to him via video call, and he was very frustrated and sad… I gave him a few days in Brazil with his families to clear his mind.”
Flick confirmed the readiness of French defenders Jules Conde, Alejandro Balde and Eric Garcia to face Atletico at the Metropolitano Stadium, while Dutch midfielder Frankie de Jong is still absent due to injury.
Barcelona faces Atletico three times in 11 days, noting that Argentine coach Diego Simeone’s team eliminated the Catalan giant from the King’s Cup semi-finals earlier this season.