Ousmane Dembele Says He'll Return to Barcelona Training in 2 Weeks
Ousmane Dembele has provided Barcelona with a timely injury update, as the forward eyes a mid-December return to first-team action.
The £96m summer signing has been sidelined for the past two-and-a-half months with a torn hamstring, but is nearing his return to full fitness after stepping up his recovery programme recently.
Dembele spoke to French TV station Canal+ about his ongoing rehabilitation, and he revealed that he planned to be back training with the rest of Barca's senior stars within the next fortnight.
He said: "In two weeks I'll be back with the group. It will be very difficult due to the amount of training I will have to do but I will be working extremely hard every single day to get back as soon as possible."
Dembele's return to full training could see him make his first appearance since September during El Clasico on 23rd December ahead of the winter break in Europe.
The France international is extremely unlikely to feature before then, but manager Ernesto Valverde could look to hand him a brief cameo appearance from the bench against fierce rivals Real Madrid two days before Christmas.
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That would prove to be a perfect festive present for Dembele himself after his initial bedding in period in Catalonia has been disrupted by his lengthy spell on the treatment table.
The former Borussia Dortmund star was only making his third appearance for La Blaugrana when he was struck down by the hamstring injury, and has had to sit out the last 14 matches as a result.
Dembele was captured doing running drills at Barca's training base earlier in November as he stepped up his rehab and, providing there are no setbacks in his return, the 20-year-old could feature before the year is out.
