Everything Barca
Fansided

Barcelona set to be without another superstar forward

By Ernesto Hernandez

Ousmane Dembele of Barcelona controls the ball tion during the Liga match between Athletic Club and FC Barcelona at San Mames Stadium on August 16, 2019 in Bilbao, Spain. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ousmane Dembele of Barcelona controls the ball tion during the Liga match between Athletic Club and FC Barcelona at San Mames Stadium on August 16, 2019 in Bilbao, Spain. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Barcelona will be without Ousmane Dembélé after the Frenchman suffered an injury in training.

The injury bug keeps biting Barcelona as the Catalans will be without one of their key players as news broke that their French forward, Ousmane Dembélé, picked up an injury and will be sidelined for five weeks. The injury seems to have occurred during the team’s training session despite the player completing practice.

Barcelona released a statement which read, “A medical examination on Ousmane Dembélé has diagnosed a strain of his left hamstring. The Frenchman is set to be out for approximately five weeks as a result.”

More from Everything Barca

The timing could not be worse for both player and the club as Luis Suarez is already expected to be out for around three weeks after suffering a calf injury in Barcelona’s league debut against Athletic Bilbao. Add in as well Philippe Coutinho going to Bayern Munich on loan, and suddenly Ernesto Valverde is not left with many options up top going forward.

Since arriving from Borussia Dortmund back in 2017 for €120 million, Dembélé’s time at the club has been plagued with injuries, inconsistent performances, and trouble off-the-pitch such as arriving late for training.

His injury has a significant domino effect as Antoine Griezmann is now the only healthy option to start up top against Real Betis. Lionel Messi is still not fully fit and has only started training normally with the team.

The other options to accompany Griezmann are Rafinha, who was subbed on for Luis Suarez, and the youngster Carles Perez who impressed in pre-season. He, too, saw action in Barcelona’s first match but was stifled like the rest of the team.

Valverde could also start Sergi Roberto there as he’s played on the right a few times when Messi was injured the past couple of seasons. Another option is to call up striker Abel Ruiz from the B team. This also may accelerate the negotiations for Neymar as his signing has now nearly become a necessity.

Next. The time is ripe for Barcelona’s big attacking prospect to step up. dark

Regardless, it is definitely not the way Barcelona nor Dembélé wanted to start the season. With Coutinho gone, this was supposed to be his opportunity to show his talent and finally succeed at the club. Instead, he picks up yet another injury and his future as a Blaugrana player has now come into question.

Home/FC Barcelona News