Brazil suffered an injury scare during its World Cup Group C match against Haiti when star winger Raphinha was forced to leave the game early, creating concern ahead of the Seleção’s attempt to reach the knockout rounds.
The extent of the issue was not immediately clear, but Raphinha’s departure quickly became the most significant storyline of the night for a Brazil team with championship aspirations.
Raphinha’s Injury History Creates Alarm for Brazil
The 29-year-old arrived at this tournament physically compromised. Raphinha sat out portions of training leading up to the Haiti match. He showed up to one session without his boots, his feet covered in blisters. He acknowledged before the tournament began that his fitness wasn’t at full capacity, according to RotoWire.
“I had an injury that left me out for a month and a bit, without training, without playing,” Raphinha said, as quoted by Barca Blaugranes. “But I have always tried to give my best in the treatment, in the club, to be able to reach 100% with Brazil.”
Raphinha came off the pitch in the 40th minute, going down without contact and immediately waving for trainers, the same sequence Brazil’s medical staff had watched play out for him before. Rayan came on to replace him on the right wing. Raphinha walked off under his own power, but his expression told its own story, according to Yahoo Sports. No official diagnosis from the Brazilian Football Confederation arrived in the immediate minutes after the substitution.
The exit looked grimly familiar. In March, Raphinha sustained a confirmed right hamstring injury during Brazil’s pre-tournament friendly against France in Foxborough, Massachusetts, according to ESPN. Barcelona announced a five-week recovery timeline, ruling him out of Champions League knockout-stage matches and several LaLiga matches at a critical point in the season. That injury was itself the third hamstring setback he had sustained in the span of a single campaign.
What Raphinha’s Absence Means for Brazil
Raphael Dias Belloli, born December 14, 1996, in Porto Alegre, built his path to Barcelona through AvaÃ, Vitória, Sporting CP and Leeds United, where he emerged as one of the Premier League’s most electric wide players. He joined Barcelona in 2022 and produced a remarkable 34 goals and 22 assists across all competitions in the 2024-25 season, according to Sports Illustrated. That campaign put him squarely in the Ballon d’Or conversation.
For Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil, Raphinha operates as the right-side attacking engine, pressing, driving, creating on set pieces and threatening the goal from his wide positions. He contributed two shots and three chances created in Brazil’s opening 1-1 draw against Morocco, according to RotoWire. The Seleção entered the Haiti match already without Neymar, who is managing a calf injury, according to World Soccer Talk. Losing both simultaneously is not exactly a minor issue for a team that has every ambition of taking a record sixth World Cup trophy.
The depth at right wing runs toward Luiz Henrique and others, but none carry Raphinha’s combination of set-piece threat, pressing intensity and goal production. Brazil has the talent to absorb the blow â VinÃcius Júnior and Matheus Cunha, who scored twice in the first half against Haiti, were effective â but manager Carlo Ancelotti will be working with a significantly thinner attack if his captain misses the knockout rounds.
The full severity of the injury won’t be known until Brazil’s medical staff completes its assessment. But the pattern that preceded Friday night â the March hamstring injury, the blisters, the carefully managed training load â was already a warning. The 40th minute turned it into something tougher to ignore.
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