Barcelona Suspects Getafe's Pitch of Foul Play as Ousmane Dembele Suffers Severe Injury
Barcelona suffered a major blow after their 2-1 victory over Getafe at the weekend when it was revealed that record signing Ousmane Dembele will be out for a minimum of three months with a thigh injury.
The 20-year-old, who Barca bought for an initial €105m this summer, was forced to come off after 25 minutes in Saturday's match with an injury that has now been revealed as a ruptured tendon in his thigh.
According to Marca, the club are putting part of the blame for Dembele's injury on the poor condition of Getafe's pitch at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez. A senior source told the paper that the club were unhappy that the pitch was unwatered and so heavy underfoot.
The club 'have not ruled out raising a formal complaint' so that regulations over the condition of the playing pitches can be stricter and enforced on a more formal platform.
The criticism of the Getafe pitch was not solely from Barcelona club officials, as it was a topic in a number of players' post-match interviews.
Gerard Deulofeu, who may profit from Dembele's injury, said: "It is a good three points because it was a field that couldn't be played on."
Marc-Andre ter Stegen was also candid in his evaluation of the situation, noting: "It seems that the pitch was a way to put us into trouble."
Fortunately for Ernesto Valverde's men, the pitch was unable to prevent Barca from coming away with the victory, as new signing Paulinho scored an 84th-minute winner.
