Dembélé to return 90 days later
Ousmane Dembélé seems to have put his injury behind him, returning to one of Xavi’s squad lists for the club’s next match against Real Betis at the Camp Nou.
For the last 90 days Dembélé has been away from all the action, missing a total of 17 games in 2023. Including the Europa League tie against Manchester United and even three duels against Real Madrid (the league game and the two-legged Copa del Rey match up).
His presence could’ve helped the club make a difference, given he seems to have finally fulfilled his potential under Xavi, showing his best version since he signed for the club back in 2017.
But it wasn’t meant to be “thanks” to his left thigh, that has kept him out longer than he could’ve hoped for. This has been his 4th longest injury since he arrived to Barcelona according to Transfermarkt.
The Frenchman was used to spending more time at the infirmary than on the pitch in his first years at the club. But Xavi not only helped him perform better, he also found the key to preventing his constant injuries. In fact, Dembélé hadn’t been injured since November 2021, right before Xavi arrived, which means he managed to stay fit for over a year with his new coach.
In Barcelona many talked about his bad eating and sleeping habits, saying he didn’t take care of his body and had very bad discipline. Considering this as the reason why he was so injury-prone at first.
Although, irrespective of this it’s pretty obvious his thighs are extremely troublesome to him. Looking back again at the Transfermarkt data on Dembélé, 4 of his 5 worst injuries at Barça have actually had to do with his thighs, without taking into account all the minor inconveniences they’ve caused along the years.
But now he’s back again and ready to help the team finish off what they started in LaLiga. Because despite the 11 point gap with Real Madrid, the squad is clearly lacking some creativity and goals in attack. Maybe even some motivation. Hopefully Dembélé can provide some attacking punch for the upcoming 7 fixtures.
Don’t expect him to start from the beginning but hopefully he’ll get some minutes towards the second-half of the game. Especially if the team is still in need of goals to get a good result. Seeing how players like Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Ferran Torres or Ansu Fati aren’t fully meeting expectations in that department, in this final stretch of the season.
There’s also a possibility Barça might want to sell him this summer to get their financial fair play in order and make space for a possible return of Leo Messi. In that case, they’ll definitely tread more cautiously with him in order to keep him healthy.