Dembele came on as a substitute during Barça’s surprise 2-1 loss to Cadiz on Saturday. Leaving Ronald Koeman with 12 points adrift of current LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid.
Ousmane Dembele has a hamstring injury
Ousmane Dembele has become as doubt for Barcelona’s Juventus clash following a hamstring injury. Dembele came on as a substitute during Barça’s surprise 2-1 loss to Cadiz on Saturday. Leaving Ronald Koeman with 12 points adrift of current LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid. The French winger was introduced after the break with the Blaugrana already 1-0 down to an Alvaro Jimenez effort and had a positive impact initially as visitors pushed for an equalizer. Koeman’s side got the leveller their pressure deserved when Jordi Alba’s cross was turned into his own goal by Pedro Alcala. But calamitous defending allowed the hosts to regain the advantage moments later. Alvaro Negredo successfully chased a short backpass to Marc-André ter Stegen before pushing into the empty net. While Cadiz held on to a famous win to move up to fifth in the table.
The French player is not considered for selection against Juventus
Dembele finished the game without any problems. But Barça have now shown he has picked up the knock that could see him miss the Champions League group stage showdown against Juventus at Camp Nou on Tuesday. “Tests on Sunday morning, December 6, showed that first-team player Ousmane Dembele had a hamstring elongation,” the club said in a statement. “Dembele will, therefore, not be considered for selection. And the evolution of the hamstring injury will determine his availability. Against Cadiz, the French winger came off the bench. He participated in his 12th game of the year and had, to that point, scored four goals. Persistent fitness issues have prevented Dembele from realizing his potential in a Barça jersey. Since his $157 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017.
The 23-year-old missed the second half of the 2019-20 campaign after undergoing surgery for a more serious hamstring injury. But has appeared in 12 appearances for the Spanish giants since returning to action at the start of the new season. While Barça are already making good progress in the Champions League knockout stages. They will be looking to secure the top spot in Group G when they play host to Juventus later this week.