Barcelona midfielder Rafinha ruled out for four months with knee injury

Barcelona midfielder Rafinha has been ruled out for the next four months after undergoing surgery on a knee injury.

The Brazil international had an operation on his right knee on Friday, which will rule him out for the remainder of the season including pushes for the La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles.

Rafinha had to be replaced after just 17 minutes of Barcelona's 4-1 win at Granada on Sunday and subsequently missed the 3-0 La Liga victory against Sevilla in midweek.

The 24-year-old had become a key player in Barcelona boss Luis Enrique's switch to a 3-4-3 formation following a 4-0 thrashing by Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie in February.

It had also been his best season to date for the Catalan side in terms of goals, scoring seven times in 28 appearances in all competitions this season.

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However, Rafinha has a history of knee injuries having missed the majority of last season due to cruciate ligament damage.

Barcelona are in action against Malaga live on Sky Sports this weekend, kicking off at 7.45pm on Saturday.

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