Koeman updates on injury situations of Fati & Dembele

Injuries to key players have seen the Catalan giants struggle to keep up with the other contenders early in the La Liga title race.

FC Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman insists he is unaware when exactly will Ousmane Dembele or Ansu Fati be able to return to action.

Dembele suffered an ‘elongation’ in the hamstring of his right leg in the shock 2-1 La Liga loss to Cadiz earlier this month and was forced into yet another spell on the sidelines.

Ansu Fati, meanwhile, was ruled out for four months after damaging his left knee during the 5-2 thumping of Real Betis in November.

“[Dembele] is training separately from the group, he’s working on his own and I can’t put a date on it,” said Koeman, via Marca. “I hope it’s soon as he’s a player we need.”

“It’s hard to say when [Fati] might be back. He’s working hard every day at the club’s facilities to get better, but it depends on how he progresses. We can’t take any risks, especially because of his age, there’s plenty of time.”

Dembele and Fati both were in fine form prior to their setbacks having contributed a combined nine goals and six assists in total in 2020/21 and their availability becomes even more important as Barca head into the second half of the season.

Koeman is also without defenders Gerard Pique [knee issue] and Sergi Roberto [thigh issue].