:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/RJ5CS6ZSRNFJTCDQOVBNAY42MA.jpg)
Ousmane Dembélé was living a great moment in his career, but he suffered a new injury. The French forward got hurt in Barcelona's victory against Girona (0-1) and set off alarms. A few hours after the match, Spanish media reported that the World Cup champion will be out of action for at least three weeks. That means he will miss the two matches against Manchester United in the Europa League round of 16.
Dembélé had to leave the field in the 25th minute. Xavi Hernández confirmed after the match that the incident was serious. The Frenchman felt a pinch in his left quadriceps in a race with Arnau Martínez. The 'galo' stopped abruptly and seconds later asked for the substitution.
Pedri was tasked with replacing him and eventually scored the winning goal in the 61st minute. Pending a more careful examination when the team arrives in the city of Barcelona, the initial estimates indicate that Ousmane Dembélé will be out of action for at least three weeks and will miss important LaLiga Santander matches.
However, further tests will be conducted tomorrow to determine the exact extent of the injury and the precise recovery time. For now, the French forward would miss the league matches against Real Betis (February 1st), Sevilla (February 5th), and Villareal (February 12th). In addition, he would be practically ruled out for the first leg match against Manchester United on February 16th.
First statement from Barça
Barcelona made the first statement about the Frenchman's injury through its social media. "The tests conducted this afternoon on the first team player Ousmane Dembélé have shown that he has an injury to the rectus femoris muscle in his left thigh. He is out and his availability will be determined by his evolution," the club stated. More information about his condition will be provided tomorrow.
Barcelona: more leader than ever
Barcelona defeated Girona 0-1 on Saturday at Montilivi, with a goal from Pedri in the 61st minute that resolved a dull match for Xavi Hernández's team and served to reaffirm their leadership and put pressure on Real Madrid before their match against Real Sociedad. 'Barza' has 47 points in 18 matchdays, while the 'Galácticos' have 41 points in 17 matches.
Receive our newsletter: we will send you the best sports content, as Depor always does.