The 22-year-old had been backed to be ‘like a new signing’ by his coach, but his progress had been set back yet again.

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Barcelona have confirmed that Ousmane Dembele has suffered a hamstring tear, further setting back the Frenchman’s rehabilitation.

The club announced on Wednesday that the World Cup winner has a complete rupture of the proximal tendon and are set to announce a return date in the coming hours.

An official statement released by the Blaugrana reads: “The tests performed this morning on @Dembouz have shown that the player has a complete rupture of the proximal tendon of the biceps femoris of the right thigh.

“In the next few hours, it will be determined what treatment will be followed for recovery.”

Dembele had already been recovering from a hamstring problem that had seen him miss a large portion of the 2019-20 campaign, having just returned to first-team training.

The 22-year-old was forced to leave Monday morning’s session, however, with the Camp Nou side announcing at the time that the player had only felt discomfort due to muscle fatigue.

“During this morning’s training session, Ousmane Dembele felt some discomfort in his right leg as a consequence of muscle fatigue,” Barca relayed. “He will continue with his rehabilitation.”

With a rupture now confirmed, the Liga champions will yet again be forced to wait on the former Borussia Dortmund man to repay the faith shown in him following his big-money move from Signal Iduna Park in 2017.

Indeed, head coach Quique Setien had backed Dembele to be like a new signing for the club after failing to sign a back-up for the injured Luis Suarez in the January window, with the former Real Betis boss praising the youngster’s “dedication” and “intensity” during recent training sessions.

With Dembele’s progress stalled yet again, the Blaugrana will feel stung all the harder by their inability to bring in cover, with interest in Valencia’s Rodrigo Moreno and Real Sociedad’s Loren Moron having come to nothing.

But while swoops for primary targets ultimately failed, Barca did manage to get deals over the line for Palmeiras midfielder Matheus Fernandes and Braga’s burgeoning youngster Francisco Trincao, with both players set to link up with their new side in the summer.

For now, Setien will have to make do with the skeletal squad at his disposal as three major trophies remain up for grabs.

Barca’s are next in action in the Copa del Rey, where they face-off against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames for a spot in the semi-finals.

Source – Goal.com