(Barcelona) French international winger Ousmane Dembélé has returned to the FC Barcelona squad for the game against Betis Sevilla on Saturday, three months after sustaining a left thigh injury in late January, Barça announced on social media.
“We missed him. He is the best footballer in the one against one. There are very few like him in the world. Ask La Liga full-backs who they suffer the most against. He is a player with crazy speed, who creates differences. It makes sense that we missed him so much,” Xavi reacted in a pre-match press conference on Friday.
According to the Catalan technician, a few weeks ago, “the sensations were not good, the muscle damage was in an area that was activated when the shots were fired, and which was more difficult to heal. But he is fine, he is happy. We’ll see if we start him or if we throw him in the game so that he creates more differences with his speed… But it’s very good news for us, “added Xavi.
On January 28 in Girona, during the 19th day, Dembélé had to give up his place in the 25th minute due to pain above the left knee, after a sprint.
While physical glitches seemed to have spared him for almost two years, this new injury added to the string of injuries Dembélé has suffered since joining Barca in 2017.
The explosive winger returned to training a few days ago but was not included in the Blaugrana squad for the trip to Rayo Vallecano, where Barca lost 2-1.
Danish defender Andreas Christensen is also expected to return from injury for the game against Betis on Saturday.
