Barcelona winger out of cup semi-final vs Real Madrid, eyeing return against Athletic Club

Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele is definitively ruled out of the club’s Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Madrid. The plan is for the 25-year-old attacker to make a return in the La Liga encounter against Athletic Club on March 12, reports Marta Ramon on RAC1.

Dembele suffered a thigh injury during the La Liga clash against Girona towards the end of January. After tests were carried out, it was determined that the former Borussia Dortmund ace could be out for a period of five to six weeks.

Recently, it had been reported that Dembele had resumed light training on grass and was progressing towards making a return to group training sessions soon.

It had seemingly raised hopes that the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner could be back in time for the first of two El Clasicos that Barcelona play in March.

Indeed, the Blaugrana will take on Real Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 2. The two teams square off again on March 19 in La Liga.

And now, it is being claimed that Dembele is completely ruled out of the first Clasico in the Copa del Rey, with Barça giving up hope of recovering their ace forward in time for the visit to the Bernabeu.

Instead, the objective is now for the Frenchman to make a return in the La Liga encounter against Athletic Club at San Mames on March 12.

It would mean that apart from the cup semi-final against Real Madrid, Dembele seems set to miss the league match against Valencia at Camp Nou on March 5.

The 25-year-old had been one of Barça’s most in-form players prior to getting injured. So far this term, Dembele has scored eight goals and set up seven more.

During his absence, Raphinha has stepped up for Xavi’s side while Ferran Torres also showed signs of form in the match against Cadiz this past weekend.