Dembele back but lacking rhythm to start his first-ever Clasico
The Frenchman's recovered from an injury but has not played for more than two weeks
Ousmane Dembele was interrupted in full flow when he suffered an ankle sprain during Barcelona's win over Leganes. With an expected recovery time of 15 days, the wait to see the misunderstood French genius return to action has dragged on.
After 17 days, it's still not known whether the 'Mosquito' will be back for the Copa del Rey Clasico on Wednesday. He trained outside on Monday but alone, not with his teammates. However, he has recovered from tonsillitis which briefly disrupted his recovery work last week.
LACK OF RHYTHM
In any case, Ernesto Valverde will have to decide what to do. He will name his squad for the game at Camp Nou against Real Madrid later on Tuesday. His decision will be based on Tuesday's session, which Dembele is expected to take part in with the rest of his teammates.
What is clear is that Dembele's desperate to be involved. However, evidently, he is aware that he's lacking match rhythm after a short layoff and that makes it unlikely for him to be included in the initial XI.
Dembele's fitness is one of the issues facing Valverde, who also doesn't know if Lionel Messi will be fit. He didn't train on Monday and there are doubts about his fitness after he hurt his thigh in the draw with Valencia on Saturday.
NO CLASICO STARTS
Since Dembele arrived in 2017, Barça have played three Clasicos. The first, on Dec. 23, 2017, was missed due to injury. The second, on May 6, 2018, he watched from the bench.
His debut in the fixture came earlier this season, on Oct. 28, 2018. The French international was on the bench but did come on this time -- for 16 minutes. During that time, he set up Arturo Vidal to make it 5-1. It's tough to see his first start coming on Wednesday.
