What Raphinha’s involvement for Brazil suggests about winger’s chances of featuring for Leeds vs Southampton

Leeds’ Raphinha problem

The main talking point for Leeds fans over the October international break was of course Raphinha,

After a fine run of form, the winger has been handed a rare call-up to the Brazil national team.

However, this was not great news for Leeds, as Brazil’s final game of the break was a meeting with Uruguay, which took place at 1:30 am UK time on Friday. Leeds then have a Premier League clash on Saturday at 3 pm away vs Southampton.

And with around a 12-hour flight, at minimum, needed for Raphinha to get back to Leeds from Brazil, plus he would then need to make the trip down south to St Mary’s, it seems that the South American will be involved.

When asked about Raphinha potentially being involved vs Southampton on Thursday, Marcelo Bielsa stated that his participation depended on whether he played on Friday, how many minutes he played and how he finished the game:

“There’s no doubt it’s a short turnaround. The options he has to participate on Saturday depends on whether he plays this final game tonight, how many minutes he plays, how he finishes the game after participating, how efficient the rest he can have in the next 36 hours is, considering a third of those hours will be spent flying. If there is any risk that fatigue can cause injuries we won’t risk it. So many aspects to consider I can’t offer certainties either way.”

Raphinha vs Uruguay

So, how did Raphinha get on vs Uruguay on Friday?

Unfortunately for Leeds fans, Raphinha would be handed a start against Uruguay.

He would score a brace for his country before eventually being subbed off after 71 minutes.

So, given he started and then played most of the game, Bielsa’s comments do seem to suggest that this means that Raphinha will not be starting for Leeds against Southampton.

Of course, this is not set in stone, but now seems more likely after the number of minutes he played against Uruguay.

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