Dembele suffers another setback as forward ruled out with hamstring injury

Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele is facing another spell on the sidelines after injuring his hamstring.

The France international was sent on as a half-time substitute in Saturday’s shock 2-1 LaLiga loss to Cadiz.

He completed the match but it has now been revealed he suffered an “elongation” in the hamstring of his right leg.

Barca confirmed the news on their official website on Sunday but did not provide a specific timeline for his return.

Dembele has been plagued by injuries since joining Barca from Borussia Dortmund in August 2017 for an initial €105million.

The 23-year-old has started four league games this term – already one more than he managed in the whole of 2019-20.

MEDICAL COMMUNIQUE | Dembélé
Tests carried out have shown that the French player has an elongation in the hamstrings of the right thigh

All the details:https://t.co/skzzAnYPZI pic.twitter.com/M6wnQRkydf

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 6, 2020

Of the seven LaLiga matches Dembele has started since the start of last season, Barca have won three, lost three and drawn one.

That 43 per cent win rate rises to 63 per cent in the 41 games the attacker has not started – 26 wins, seven losses and eight draws.

He has one goal and no assists in his eight league outings this term, though only Lionel Messi (4.5) and Francisco Trincao (4.2) have completed more dribbles per 90 minutes for Barca than Dembele’s 3.2.

Barca, who have made their worst start to a league season in 33 years, were already without Gerard Pique, Ansu Fati, Sergi Roberto and Samuel Umtiti due to injury.

Ronald Koeman’s men start a run of four successive home matches with a Champions League group stage clash against Juventus on Tuesday.