FC BARCELONA
FC Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembélé set to miss El Clásico; Pedri could return this week against Athletic Club
Doctors met with the player this morning to agree on his return, which now will not be until after the national team break.
Ousmane Dembélé will miss the Clásico on March 19. As anticipated at AS, doctors were managing his recovery with the utmost caution, meaning that his presence ahead of the match against Real Madrid was more up in the air than ever.
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Finally, it was decided, after a meeting between the doctors and the player himself, that the best option for the French winger would be to delay his return to the pitch for two more weeks in order to avoid a relapse: it allows him to comfortably finish his recovery without any kind of potential setback.
The absence of Dembélé in the Clásico also closes the door to the possibility of the player being called up with France, since he will now be unavailable until after the national team break at the earliest. The goal set right now by all parties is for Dembélé to be 100% available for the second leg of the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid at the Camp Nou on April 5.
So, when all said and done, Dembélé will have been out for more than two months: he injured his left thigh at the end of January. From the outset, there was already talk of a minimum time between five to seven weeks, but in the end, everyone involved valued a fully fit player over rushing him back, preferring to be conservative, taking the total number of weeks on the sidelines up to nine.
Pedri injury update
Someone can already count the days remaining on the fingers of one hand is Pedri. The midfielder has not yet been ruled out to play this Sunday at San Mamés against Athletic Club (2P.M. ET), although the likelihood remains slim. This week he will be tested to assess how he feels and whether or not the possibility of playing against Athletic is an option, even if only for a few minutes. Looking past the game in the Basque Country, in ten days time, all signs point to him having a guaranteed place as a starter in the Clásico.
LaLiga Santander 2022/2023
| Classification | PTS | WM | TM | LM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Barcelona | 62 | 20 | 2 | 2 |
| 2Real Madrid | 53 | 16 | 5 | 3 |
| 3Atlético de Madrid | 45 | 13 | 6 | 5 |
| Upcoming matches | |
|---|---|
| Athletic Club - Barcelona | S-12/03 16:00 |
| Barcelona - Real Madrid | S-19/03 16:00 |
| Elche - Barcelona | S-01/04 15:00 |
*Data updated to date Mar 9th, 2023