Foreign press reports have revealed that Hamza Abdel Karim, the Egyptian national team striker, is close to returning to the Spanish club Barcelona's lineup, amid an injury sustained by Raphinha, the Blaugrana star.
The Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo reported that Raphinha suffered from edema in his right thigh, and as a precautionary measure, the Barcelona forward left the Brazilian national team camp ahead of their friendly match against India in Kolkata.
The Brazilian Football Confederation had announced Raphinha's departure from the senior national team camp, stating he would return to the ranks of Spanish club Barcelona to recover from his injury.
The newspaper listed Hamza Abdel Karim and five other players as potential replacements for Raphinha, should he fail to recover from his injury before Barcelona's next La Liga match against Getafe.
Despite Abdel Karim featuring in all of Barcelona's pre-season friendly matches during the preparation period for the current season, scoring four goals in them, he has only played four minutes in the team's official matches.
Raphinha has been Barcelona's starting striker since the beginning of the current season, proving his worth in that position by scoring 14 goals and providing three assists, playing a prominent role in securing victories in several matches for the Blaugrana.
It added: "If Hansi Flick, Barcelona's head coach, wishes to rest Raphinha from the start in the Getafe match, or if he is not ready, he has other options to fill the center-forward position."
It continued: "Gabriel Jesus, Hamza Abdel Karim, Anthony Gordon, Dani Olmo, Fermin Lopez, and Lamine Yamal himself can replace the Brazilian player if he does not recover from the edema or is rested against Getafe."
The newspaper concluded that the option of Spaniard Lamine Yamal playing as a pure striker is the least likely, but it is currently being discussed extensively by the team's technical staff.
