Barca Coach, Valverde Blames Dembele Inexperience For Injury

Barcelona coach, Ernesto Valverde believes Ousmane Dembele’s inexperience was partly to blame for the hamstring injury which will keep him out for around four months, he told reporters on Monday.

The 20-year-old France winger backheeled the ball while running at speed in the 25th minute of Barca’s 2-1 win at Getafe in La Liga on Saturday and immediately pulled up injured.

Valverde said, “Dembele’s a young player and this is one of the difficulties that he will find in his career, you never want them to come but everyone we have played have had muscle or knee problems and you have to suffer.

“When a player goes to that speed and gives a heel, which is the most aggressive thing you can do for the femoral biceps, even to me it has happened, I don’t want to say it’s normal but there’s a probability that it will happen, but a player more veteran maybe would not have done that.”

Dembele, who joined the club from Borussia Dortmund for 105 million euros ($125.22 million) in the close season, was diagnosed on Sunday with a hamstring rupture which Barcelona said will sideline him until around Christmas.

Dembele is in Finland to have his hamstring operated on Tuesday (September 19).

Reuters