Barcelona coach questions winger’s preparation after latest setback.

Barcelona will be without winger Raphinha for Tuesday’s Copa del Rey match away to second tier side Albacete after the Brazilian picked up a thigh strain, with coach Hansi Flick saying changes are needed in the player’s preparation.

Raphinha sustained the injury during Saturday’s La Liga win over Elche and is expected to be sidelined for around a week.

Despite the short absence, Flick expressed clear frustration, with the winger having already missed two months earlier in the season because of a hamstring problem.

“To be honest I’m not happy with this, really, because he’s a very important player,” Flick said at a news conference on Monday. “We have to see what we have to change and also what he has to change. We’ll speak about that in the next days because it’s important.

“This is the important phase in the season. We need every player to be able to play and when he’s out, it’s not good.”

Barcelona have not lost a match this season in which Raphinha has started, underlining his importance to the Spanish champions.

Albacete knocked out Real Madrid in the previous round, something Flick said did not surprise him. “This is why we love cup games. There are sometimes unexpected results,” he said. “They have nothing to lose. They have only to win.”

Meanwhile, Spanish media reports say goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen, currently on loan at Girona, has suffered a hamstring injury that could rule him out for up to two months.

“I didn’t speak with him but I’m very sorry for him,” Flick added. “We have to wait for the results and we’ll see what happened.”

Ter Stegen has made two appearances for Girona since joining the club on loan in January until the end of the season.