Valverde pessimistic about Coutinho, Dembele playing in Copa final

Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde is not optimistic about having Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele available for the Copa del Rey final.

LaLiga champions Barca face Valencia in the May 25 showpiece, hoping to end the season with a domestic double.

But Coutinho and Dembele appear to be in serious danger of missing the game, having sat out Sunday’s 2-2 draw away to Eibar in Barca’s final league fixture of the season.

Coutinho suffered a hamstring strain in the 2-0 win over Getafe on May 12, while Dembele sustained a similar issue at the start of the month.

They may now miss the Copa final, though Valverde does expect to have goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen back after a minor knee injury.

“We’ve got a few issues in certain positions and we’re going to see if we can get a few players back,” the coach told reporters in his post-match news conference.

“Ter Stegen will certainly be available. Coutinho, I don’t know and Dembele is looking unlikely. Let’s see about Arthur.

“He’s had a problem for two to three months and he needed a break. It could have happened a month or so ago, but it’s happened now. I don’t know if he’ll be available.”

[INJURY NEWS]
Nélson Semedo has a head injury picked up in the game against Eibar. The player will remain overnight under observation in hospital in Bilbao. The player is expected to return to Barcelona tomorrow Monday. pic.twitter.com/wOVs7bcSwp

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 19, 2019

Barca lost Nelson Semedo to a head injury at Ipurua and the Portuguese full-back was taken to hospital, but Valverde is hopeful he will be completely fine.

“I don’t have any news about Nelson,” Valverde added. “We hope it’s only a precaution for the knock.”