German coach Hansi Flick, Barcelona coach, confirmed on Friday that Catalan club captain Rafinha, who was injured in his right thigh with the Brazilian national team, will miss at least the team's next two matches.
Flick said in a press conference: “Rafinha? Tests showed that he does not suffer from a serious injury, but we have to be careful with him, because he suffered three injuries last season. We have to take care of him, so he will not be available on Saturday (against Getafe), nor against Galatasaray (Tuesday).”
When asked about the absence of the Brazilian striker, who was injured during a friendly match in Australia, the German coach criticized the schedule imposed on his players.
He added: “The team is the team, and defending their country is often the main goal for all players, and this is Rafinha’s mentality and position. He always gives 100 percent. But I think we have to ask: Was it really necessary for him to go play a friendly match in Australia and travel thousands of kilometers? "This is unbelievable."
Rafinha, who has been repositioned as a striker in Barcelona since the beginning of the season, tops Europe's top scorers with 14 goals in eight matches in all competitions.
The former Rennes and Leeds player suffered from recurring muscle injuries since the beginning of his career, and he returned injured from the international break in March 2026, during which he faced the French national team in a friendly match in Boston.
Barcelona missed him a lot in the final, decisive stage of the season, especially in the Champions League (elimination in the quarter-finals against Atletico Madrid).
The Brazilian striker also injured the back muscle of the thigh during the 2026 World Cup with Seleção.
Barcelona, the leader with 21 points, the Spanish League champion in the last two seasons, which has not yet been defeated, is deprived of its captain in resuming its league campaign on Saturday against Getafe.
Three days after winning the 102nd title in his professional career in the Beijing tournament, Serbian Novak Djokovic, ranked eighth in the world, bid farewell to the Shanghai Thousand Point Tennis Masters tournament, on Friday, in his first match in the second round.
Polish Hubert Hurkacz defeated Novak Djokovic for the first time, and ousted the four-time champion of the Shanghai Tennis Masters Championship, with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the Serbian in the second round on Friday.
Djokovic, ranked tenth in the tournament, arrived in Shanghai after winning the China Open for the seventh time, a record, after Australian Alex de Minaur withdrew from the final match, on Tuesday, due to a thigh injury.
Djokovic, who won 24 major tournament titles, his last title being in Shanghai in 2018, won eight times without any defeat in his previous confrontations with Hurkacz (29 years old). But the Pole, formerly ranked sixth in the world, gave an outstanding performance, playing 13 aces and 28 winners while not losing much on his serves, defeating Djokovic after one hour and 27 minutes in his first appearance in Shanghai since winning the title in 2023.
This loss represents the latest setback for the 39-year-old Serbian in a difficult season, which witnessed his sudden exit in the first round of the US Open, which is the fastest defeat he has suffered in the four major tournaments since the Australian Open in 2006.
“The Giant” Victor Wimbanyama appeared in good condition and was highly prepared despite the defeat and limited playing time, in his first participation after returning to the ranks of the San Antonio Spurs during a preparatory match against the Atlanta Hawks, a return that came 3 months after his loss in the final of the American Basketball League (NBA).
The 22-year-old Frenchman played on the floor of the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio for 17 minutes during the first half, scoring 9 points and adding 6 rebounds.
Thanks to his movements and enthusiastic performance, the tall player (2.24 meters) ignited the enthusiasm of the crowd in Texas when he received an air pass from his teammate Stephon Castle, turned in the air, and scored a spectacular basket.
His three-pointer and his success in recovering the ball defensively, in addition to the brilliant performance of his teammate Dylan Harper, who scored 16 points in 19 minutes, to which he added 4 rebounds and a steal, contributed to giving the Spurs a 67-62 lead at the end of the first half, after being ahead by 19 points at the end of the first quarter.
Wembanyama spent the second half of the match on the bench, and center player Luke Cornet replaced him for a quarter of an hour. Then coach Mitch Johnson rotated the lineup and rested the prominent players, led by “Wimpy.”
The Atlanta Hawks took advantage of this situation to come back and win the pre-season match with a score of 123-116.
Spurs player David Jones gave a remarkable performance by scoring 14 points and grabbing 4 rebounds in 15 minutes, and young newcomer Carter Bryant (20 years old), who was chosen by the team in the “Draft” for the year 2025, contributed by scoring 11 points and grabbing 5 rebounds.
Last season, Imbanyama was crowned the best defender and came in third place in the league's best player award.
The San Antonio Spurs are scheduled to play 4 more preparatory matches before the start of the new season on October 20, when they will face the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Spurs had finished the 2025-2026 regular season with the second-best record in the league behind Oklahoma, with 62 wins and 20 defeats.
Thanks to Wimbanyama's brilliance, the team is considered one of the most prominent candidates to compete for the title this season, after stumbling at the final threshold last year by losing to the New York Knicks 1-4 in the final series.
