Barcelona suffer major injury blow before Manchester United clash

The Frenchman has been in scintillating form for the La Liga giants this term, scoring five goals and providing five assists.

Dembele has reestablished himself as an important first-team player, having looked to be on the cusp of leaving the club last summer.

But the World Cup winner suffered a thigh injury midway through the first half of Barcelona’s win against Girona on Saturday.

Dembele was seen clutching his left leg and the club released a statement afterwards confirming they were undergoing assessments on the severity of the injury.

‘Tests carried out this evening on Ousmane Dembélé have shown that he has a rectus femoris injury in his left thigh,’ a statement read.

‘He is out and his recovery will determine his availability.’

The Athletic say initial assessments estimate Dembele could miss up to a month of action, which would certainly rule him out of the first leg at the Camp Nou on February 14th.

It would leave Dembele in a race against time to play at Old Trafford a week later on February 23rd.

United face Barcelona in a play-off after they finished second in their Europa League group, while the Catalans finished third in their Champions League group.

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