PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 08: Ousmane Dembele of France looks on during the international friendly match between France and Bulgaria at Stade de France on June 08, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – JUNE 19: Ousmane Dembele (11) of France is seen during the EURO 2020 Group F soccer match between Hungary and France, at Ferenc Puskas Stadium on June 19, 2021 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Dmitriy Golubovich/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
More bad news for Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembélé as the France forward is set to miss the remainder of Euro 2020 after suffering a knee injury in the 1-1 draw against Hungary.
The French national team released a statement where they stated the player would be leaving the group but did not indicate how long the injury would keep him out of action.
Discussions between the medical staff of both the national team and Barcelona have already taken place according to the statement.
The injury is the latest chapter of Dembélé’s career as he simply can’t seem to stay healthy. It has plagued him at Barcelona and now it’s plagued him with his national team.
The injury a blow for both Dembélé and France.
Losing Dembélé is a blow for France despite the player being used as a substitute in the games against Germany and Hungary.
Dembélé did manage to stay relatively healthy last season for Barcelona and had his best campaign since arriving from Borussia Dortmund.
But now it likely feels like he’s back at square one with speculation as to how long he’ll take to recover. While more tests will be done, some are speculation that he’ll be out for two months.
The rumored timetable means he will miss preseason with Barcelona and the beginning of the season. The other thing up in the air is his club future.
Barcelona has been wanting him to sign a contract extension and at the same time studying whether or not to include him in a potential swap deal. The injury now makes the latter unfeasible.
The important thing now is for Dembélé to recover. He looked sharp in the Hungary game and even had one of his shots clang off the post before the injury.
His talent has never been in question. It’s the injuries that have put a stop-start to his career so far.
