Ousmane Dembele suffers another setback at Barcelona

Ousmane Dembele faces another spell on the sidelines with an issue picked up during Sunday’s 4-2 comeback win at Real Sociedad.

The French attacker made just three competitive appearances for Barcelona before he was shut down with a serious hamstring injury for almost four months in September. His latest setback is another hamstring complaint, but the club insists it “does not affect the area operated on earlier in the season” and that it will leave him out of commission for just three-to-four weeks.

Dembele was introduced from the bench as a 65th-minute replacement for Paulinho during the weekend’s match at the Anoeta, but only managed to have 15 touches of the ball. He was signed last summer from Borussia Dortmund for an initial €105-million fee, despite making just 44 league starts over the course of his career. He was Dortmund’s standout player in the 2016-17 term, though, fashioning eight goals and 18 assists across 42 Bundesliga and Champions League matches.

Competition has heated up in Barcelona’s frontline as Dembele continues to deal with fitness problems. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez put in stunning performances at Real Sociedad, and Philippe Coutinho joined from Liverpool earlier in January for around €160 million. Paco Alcacer is also pushing for minutes, but has been used sparingly by Ernesto Valverde and is currently on his own spell in the treatment room.