Barcelona hopeful of Ousmane Dembele returning to action this week

From a footballing perspective 2023 has been a very tough year for Ousmane Dembele. The French international sustained a thigh injury against Girona in late January, and he has been out of action ever since.

This is despite initially reports suggesting that he would only be out for a month. An extra two months later, he is still yet to return to action for Barcelona, although there is hope that a return date is in sight.

Dembele has resumed training with the Barcelona squad, and although he is a major doubt to feature against Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday, Diario AS have reported that he should be included in the squad for this weekend’s match against Real Betis, barring any last minute hiccups.

Dembele’s absence has been greatly felt, although Raphinha has stepped up on occasion for Barcelona. Nevertheless, Xavi Hernandez will be hoping that Dembele will play a part in the season run-in.

Up until the injury, it had been Dembele’s best season at Barcelona since joining in 2017, and he will hope to continue that, if/when he returns to action in the coming weeks.