The FC Barcelona has confirmed the worst possible news regarding the physical state of Ousmane Dembélé, who was forced to leave the pitch of the Montilivi municipal stadium as a result of muscular discomfort. Shortly after, the club reported that he suffered “an injury to the rectus femoris of the left thigh.”
Although from the Barcelona entity they have not given an estimated time of withdrawal (they pointed out that Dembélé “is low and evolution will mark his availability”), the French attacker is expected to be out of action for three to four weeks due to the extent of his injury. It is a big blow for Xavi Hernández and company at a key moment of the season.
And it is that February is coming as a month in which the Catalans cannot make mistakes, because they will continue their path in LaLiga, Copa del Rey and, in addition, they will receive Manchester United on Spotify Camp Nou for the first leg of the round of 32 of the Europa League. Three competitions and five games in which Xavi will probably not be able to count on him.
In principle, Dembélé will miss five games: Those of LaLiga against Real Betis, this Wednesday, February 1 at Benito Villamarín, the visit of Sevilla next Sunday (4/2) and Villarreal (12/2). The one mentioned in the Europa League that will be played on Tuesday the 16th and, depending on the draw for the Copa del Rey, the first leg of the semifinals.
And it is that, if Barça is paired with Real Madrid, the game will have to be postponed because, in the week that the duel is played, the madridistas will be in Morocco for the Club World Cup. In the event that Osasuna or Athletic play them in the ‘semis’, the clash will be played on February 8 or 9. If it is like this, Dembélé would also be low.
The forecast of the Barça is that it is recovered before the visit to Old Trafford for the return of the ‘play-offs’, which will be played on Thursday the 23rd. Before, Barça will host Cádiz on 2/19. For the matches against Almería (2/26) and Valencia (3/5) he should already be at 100%… if everything goes well.
In the best moment of Dembélé
The injury to the rectus femoris of the left thigh comes at Dembélé’s best moment of the season and, probably, since he arrived at Barça in 2017. The Frenchman was ‘unleashed’ and had become one of the offensive engines of the team led by Xavi Hernandez. He will have an unexpected ‘stop’ and return to the infirmaryin which he had not ‘been’ since November 2021.
