Barcelona's Dembele out with badly torn hamstring

Madrid (AFP) – French international striker Ousmane Dembele has suffered a badly torn hamstring, his club Barcelona announced on Tuesday.

“Tests carried out on Tuesday on Ousmane Dembele have shown that the player has a complete proximal hamstring tear in his right thigh,” the club announced. “In the next few hours a decision will be made on the treatment to be followed for his recovery.”

The 22-year-old has struggled with hamstring problems. He had only just returned from an injury to the right thigh he suffered in November before suffering a fresh problem in training on Monday.

The striker joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in August 2017 in a deal worth up to 147 million euros. He has played 21 times for France and was part of the squad that won the World Cup in 2020. 

The latest injury is similar to one he suffered in 2017, in his first league start for Barcelona. Then he was out for five months with a ruptured tendon in his left thigh.

Barcelona play Naples in the Champions League round of 16 on February 25. France kick off their Euro 2020 campaign against Germany in Munich on June 16.