Barcelona midfielder Rafinha to undergo surgery after injury sustained in Roma draw

Barcelona midfielder Rafinha will undergo surgery after damaging the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Wednesday’s 1-1 Uefa Champions League Group E draw at AS Roma.

The Brazil international had only been on the pitch for a few minutes when he was injured by a robust tackle from behind by Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan.

Barca said on their website on Thursday Rafinha, the younger brother of Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara, would have the operation in the next few days.

They did not say how long he might be sidelined but Spanish media reported he would miss the rest of the season.

Nainggolan, a Belgium international, said on his Twitter feed on Thursday he had not meant to hurt Rafinha.

“Hi rafinha, I am really sorry about the bad news,” Nainggolan wrote.

“It was not my intention to hurt you,” he added. “I hope to see you on the pitch soon, a big hug.”

Rafinha is not an automatic starter for Barcelona, but has been in good form in recent weeks and will be a significant loss for the Spanish and European champions.

Their next outing is a Primera Liga game at home to Levante on Sunday and they host Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League at the end of the month.

Rafinha and Thiago are the sons of former Brazil midfielder Mazinho, who was part of the 1994 World Cup-winning side.

Thiago, who plays for Spain and like Rafinha is a graduate of Barca’s academy, needed two operations on a similar injury he sustained in March last year and missed the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

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US PGA Championship in numbers

1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.

2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.

3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.

4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.

5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.

6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.

7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.

8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.

9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.

10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.

11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.

12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.

13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.

14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.

15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.

16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.

17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.

18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative