Carlo Ancelotti has sought to reassure Barcelona over Raphinha’s involvement with Brazil after the winger’s return to the national squad raised fears of a recurrence of the injury that sidelined him following the previous international break.
The Italian coach was speaking in Singapore ahead of Saturday’s match against Japan, the first of two friendlies that will round off Brazil’s 2026 schedule. Brazil then face hosts Singapore on Tuesday at the same venue, the National Stadium.
“The player’s health always comes first,” Ancelotti said at his press conference. He added that players would only feature if fully fit and that his staff would assess their condition and monitor their minutes across the two games.
“Clubs can rest easy,” Ancelotti added, explaining that his staff had the information they needed to determine the right workload for each player. He also said Raphinha could play through the middle after impressing in that role for Barcelona.
The comments came after Globo reported that Barcelona and the Brazilian Football Confederation were coordinating to manage Raphinha’s minutes. The winger described his conversation with Ancelotti as a discussion about his fitness. Neither specified how many minutes he would play.
“I want to play as many minutes as possible,” Raphinha said. He added that he had suffered three injuries in roughly the same area during recent spells with Brazil and wanted to recover fully to avoid another layoff for club and country.
The first injury came against France in March, before the problem resurfaced against Haiti at the World Cup. Raphinha was then forced off against Australia in September and went on to miss Barcelona’s matches against Getafe and Galatasaray.
Barcelona extended Raphinha’s contract through 2030 in early November. The winger said his most recent club appearance was the first time he had completed 90 minutes since returning from injury, which explains why both sides are keeping a close eye on his playing time in the two friendlies.
