Ousmane Dembele’s FC Barcelona Return Already Has A Date

The return of FC Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele already has a date, according to a report.

The Frenchman has been out of action since pulling up injured and having to leave the Blaugrana’s 1-0 away win at Girona early on Matchday 19 almost a fortnight ago.

Dembele was later revealed to have suffered a thigh knock, which it was said would keep him watching from the stands for at least five weeks.

His absence is a hammer blow to head coach Xavi Hernandez, who has managed to exact top form from the World Cup winner after being on the cusp of leaving the club as a free agent this time last year.

This term, Dembele’s eight goals and seven assists have fired Barca to the top of La Liga – where they boast an eight point lead over Real Madrid – and the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey following his winner in the quarters against Real Sociedad.

The two-legged last four fixture in the Copa del Rey pits the Catalans against their bitter rivals Madrid too. But according to AS, Dembele is likely to miss the first leg and both games against Manchester United in the Europa League play offs.

Instead, Xavi should be able to call on his number ’11’ again on March 19 when Barca receive Real Madrid in another Clasico at Camp Nou where the result could have a great impact on the La Liga title race.

Dembele is therefore set to miss at least eight games – which becomes nine should Barca beat United and advance to the last 16 of the Europa League where ‘Dembouz’ will skip the first leg.

Furthermore, it means that his total absence will be seven weeks and not five, which comes as good news to Raphinha.

Though the Brazilian would of course prefer not to see his teammate sidelined, Raphinha will probably remain Xavi’s only pure winger in the successful four-man midfield system currently being fielded.

On Sunday, in the 3-0 rout over Sevilla that opened up the mentioned points lead at the top of the table, he was outstanding with a persistent display that saw him provide an assist for Gavi and score a goal of his own.

As communicated through Gavi’s viral celebration, though, Dembele is clearly well-loved and highly-regarded by his peers, who will wish to have him on the pitch again as soon as possible.