Barcelona winger likely to miss Rayo Vallecano clash, will return against Real Betis | Barca Universal
Barcelona is still waiting for star winger Ousmane Dembele to return from injury as the 2022–23 season nears its conclusion.
The 25-year-old hasn't played since suffering a thigh injury against Girona in late January, which has kept him off the field. It was originally anticipated that he would be gone for five weeks, but it has now been almost three months.
Dembele's return was actually postponed until the Copa del Rey Clasico earlier this month from the La Liga Clasico versus Real Madrid, which was previously anticipated to take place last month. But because the winger's recovery has taken longer than expected, his return was not anticipated even then.
Dembele rejoined team training last week but was not selected for the match against Atletico Madrid because Xavi Hernandez and company did not want to take a chance on a relapse.
It was suggested that the victor of the 2018 FIFA World Cup might be prepared for Wednesday night's match versus Rayo Vallecano.
Nevertheless, club insiders have told Javi Miguel of AS that it is "very difficult" for Dembele to make the squad list that will be revealed by manager Xavi on Tuesday, making that a now-unlikely scenario.
Dembele is now scheduled to play in his next game on Saturday night at Spotify Camp Nou against Real Betis.
As mentioned earlier, the club medical staff is unwilling to risk any relapse or complication with Dembele’s injury given his past fitness issues and are hence pushing his comeback to the weekend, at home against Betis.
Furthermore, it is claimed that even if he does return to the field against Manuel Pellegrini’s side, the French forward will only feature from the bench and likely play only twenty minutes.
Barcelona will thus likely continue to bank on Raphinha for the next two games. The Brazilian had some discomfort after the Atletico Madrid clash but is expected to be fit and ready to face Rayo Vallecano.