Barcelona have announced Ousmane Dembele could be sidelined for up to four months with a thigh injury.
Dembele limped off 29 minutes into Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Getafe over the weekend and will now undergo surgery in Finland before being ruled out for the rest of 2017.
The France international became Barcelona’s most expensive player of all-time in the summer after joining the Spanish giants from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth up to £135.5m.
Dembele, who was signed as Neymar’s replacement, was only making his second start for Barcelona since joining and is now sidelined until after the winter break.
“The French player ruptures his tendon in the femoral bicep in his left thigh and will be operated on by Sakari Orava in Finland this week,” a statement read on the club’s official website.
“He is expected to be out for between three and a half months and four months.”
After providing an assist on his Barcelona debut in a 5-0 win over Espanyol, Dembele failed to play a direct hand in a goal in his next 100 minutes of action in all competitions.
