The Brazilian Football Confederation released Raphinha from the national team on Wednesday after a scan detected a muscle edema in his right thigh. The forward, who scored a penalty in Tuesday's 4-2 win over Australia, felt discomfort and was substituted at half-time of that match.
The CBF announced the decision in an official statement. "As a precaution and aiming for his prompt recovery, the player will be released from the Brazilian national team," the confederation said. "No athlete will be called up in his place for the friendly against India." Raphinha will now return to Barcelona for treatment.
The friendly against India, the first ever between the two nations, is scheduled for Saturday at -11:00 Brasília time at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The match concludes the team's commitments in this FIFA window.
Raphinha, 29, was La Liga's current top scorer with 12 goals in seven games for Barcelona this season. Brazil is averaging 2.33 points per game in qualifying and is in strong recent form with three consecutive wins.
More detail at Folha Esporte
