- Real Madrid host Barcelona for El Clasico on December 23
- Catalan giants could welcome back summer signing Dembele from injury for clash
- Frenchman has been out with a hamstring injury
- READ MORE: What Lionel Messi said to referee after controversial Barcelona no-goal against Valencia
Football fans around the world are being treated to a pre-Christmas gift this year, with Barcelona heading to the Bernabeu to face Real Madrid on December 23.
Unfortunately for summer signing Ousmane Dembele, he suffered a hamstring injury just three games into life at Barcelona, as he was forced into being replaced against Getafe back in September.
He’s missed 14 games in all competitions since, and so Ernesto Valverde will have been left hugely disappointed to not have had a key individual at his disposal to start the campaign.
That feeling would undoubtedly have been shared by Dembele who would have been keen to impress, but instead he has been forced to go through rehabilitation instead.
However, the £135.5m signing from Borussia Dortmund this past summer, as per BBC Sport, has revealed that he will now return to training with his teammates soon enough and will be working hard to get back into the team as soon as possible.
On the other hand, Barca will have to be careful with him too, as the last thing that they need is for him to suffer a setback and be sidelined again.
“In two weeks I’ll be back with the group,” Dembele told Canal+. “It will be very difficult due to the amount of training I will have to do but I will be working extremely hard every single day to get back as soon as possible.”
In turn, The Express believe that Dembele will be back in time to face Real Madrid, which on paper will be a major boost for the Catalan giants, not that they’ve missed him too much during his spell in the treatment room.
Ernesto Valverde’s side sit top of the La Liga table with 11 wins in 13 games, while they’ve also secured their place in the Champions League knockout stage. However, adding a quality option in attack like Dembele will undoubtedly be a positive for Valverde.