Dembele Out For Weeks After Hamstring Injury

By Joshua Walters

Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele is set to be on the sidelines for one month after suffering a hamstring injury in his side’s 5-1 win over Olympique Lyon in the Champions League second leg tie at the Camp Nou on Wednesday. 

The French forward was not deemed fit enough to start the fixture as he came off the bench to register his name on the score sheet.

The injury will see the nimble-footed player missing Barcelona’s fixtures against Real Betis, Espanyol and Villarreal as he could also miss the side’s crunch fixture with Atletico Madrid on April 6.

The injury is said to have been a recurrence of an injury sustained by the player in the club’s 3-1 win against Rayo Vallecano over the weekend.

Dembele, 21, has played twenty-four LaLiga games scoring eight with four assists and three goals in six Champions League appearances this season.

Barcelona recruited the former Rennes winger in 2017 from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of €105 million plus a reported €40 million add-ons having signed a five-year contract.

Dembele has been an integral figure in coach Ernesto Valverde’s squad having helped the side to the top of the Spanish LaLiga table with 63 points, a seven-point lead over second-place Atletico Madrid and twelve points ahead arch-rivals Real Madrid who currently lies third after twenty-seven matches.

The World Cup winner also played a major role in the side’s journey to the Copa del Ray final which is expected to be played on May 25 against Valencia.

Barcelona on Thursday in a statement on their official website announced the news.

The statement read:

"The tests performed have confirmed that Dembele has a muscle injury in his left hamstring.

“The approximate time out will be three to four weeks."

Dembele, despite being in fine form this season, has not scored in the LaLiga since January for the reigning LaLiga champions.