Dembele becomes another problem for Setien

Quique Setien will have to wait even longer for the return of Ousmane Dembele, who was last seen as a substitute for new squads in January after the Frenchman suffered a problem that has slowed the recovery process.

Injury to Ousmane Dembeles makes him not return to the Barcelona squad for a long time than initially expected, adding to the problems for coach Setien.

“Transfer any striker? Lazy will come back, ”Setien’s words were a few days ago, but the year 2020 has not started much better than 2019 for the striker, who suffered six injuries last year.

He has played in just nine games this season. The season started with a full 90 minutes in the first leg against San Mames, then played 45 minutes against Villarreal a month later, was red-carded against Sevilla, played 45 minutes against Cetla Vigo and 90 minutes against Leganes.

In the Champions League, his 136 minutes of play are spread over four games, the last against Borussia Dortmund on 27 November.

It is still unknown how serious this last Dembele injury is, however he is unlikely to be available to play for a while. So, Setien would have to keep up with Ansu Fate, Antoine Griezmann and Lionel Messi in attack and only young Alex Collado as a backup after Carles Perez joined Rome.

Four players will have to cover the three attacking positions until they return from injuries to Dembele and Luis Suarez, while Setien will be praying that no one else will be injured.