After almost three months out on the sidelines, Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele could return to action in the game against Real Betis in late April, reports ARA.
Dembele suffered a hamstring injury during the game against Girona in La Liga all the way back in January earlier this year. Initially it was expected that the Frenchman would be out on the sidelines for a period of four to six weeks.
A return had been pencilled in for the league El Clasico on March 19. However, a few days before that match, it emerged that the winger’s recovery had not gone at the expected pace and he would come back after the international break.
As the Copa del Rey Clasico loomed, it once again emerged that Dembele will not be ready for that encounter either. Soon it emerged that his recovery had been going much slower than anticipated and, as a result, his return date was still undetermined.
Barcelona are understood to see Dembele’s injury as the most worrying and are not prepared to risk exacerbating the situation given his past fitness issues.
Now, though, ARA is reporting that the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner could be back for the La Liga encounter against Real Betis will take place at Spotify Camp Nou on April 29. It would mean that the winger would miss the upcoming games against Getafe, Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano.
The report states that there are multiple factors behind Dembele’s delayed return from injury.
The winger is the only other Barcelona player apart from Franck Kessie who fasts during the month of Ramadan (March 22 – April 21). Hence, Barcelona do not want to rush him back until he has trained for a while after returning to his normal diet.
Apart from this, another factor behind his return being delayed is that Dembele’s healing is understood to be going very slowly.
So, if everything goes well over the next couple of weeks, the 25-year-old could come back for the match against Real Betis towards the end of this month.
