Barcelona Have No Intention Of Speeding Up Dembele’s Recovery, Will Return Vs Real Madrid
Ousmane Dembele was the first star player of FC Barcelona to pick up an injury since the turn of the year. The attacker had picked up a thigh injury during the league game against Girona, effectively ruling him out on the sidelines for several weeks.
Since then, Dembele has missed out on ten competitive matches for FC Barcelona, striking a major blow as far as Xavi’s attacking armoury is concerned.
Nevertheless, Barcelona have no intention to fast-track the return of Dembele, as they fear another relapse for an attacker, whose spell at Camp Nou has been largely plagued by injury, reports Javi Miguel.
The Spanish journalist suggests Barcelona will not cut deadlines to speed up Dembele’s recovery and have him available for the league game against Athletic Club on March 12, contrary to what was reported earlier in the week.
The Frenchman, therefore, will not return to the pitch at San Mames. His return date has been scheduled for the March 19 fixture against Real Madrid, in the iconic El Clasico.
That would mean Dembele would miss a total of 12 matches before he recovers from injury. Even then, there are uncertainties as to whether or not the attacker can fully recover his fitness, having been sidelined for more than a month.
Incidentally, however, Barcelona are hoping to have another injured player Robert Lewandowski back in action for the March 19 game against Real Madrid as well.
The Pole had picked up a knock during the defeat to Almeria last weekend. He had been ruled out for two weeks and notably missed the midweek Copa Del Rey fixture against Lewandowski, even though Barça managed to secure a 1-0 win.
The combined strength of Lewandowski and Dembele should give Barcelona enough firepower to register another win against their arch-rivals later this month and take a formidable lead in the race for the league title.
