Can injury-ridden Dembélé ever be a success at Barcelona?

The commencement of Dembélé’s Barcelona career was a sign of things to come

On his very first start for Barcelona, Ousmane Dembélé suffered a hamstring injury. Not much was read into the unfortunate incident at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez away to Getafe, but it has turned out to be a sign of things to come.

Since his €125 million move from Borussia Dortmund, the 22-year old French forward has missed 52 matches through injury. Dembélé has spent a total of 285 days on the treatment table, and his gestation period after recovery has been unusually long.

But most importantly, Dembélé has had injury problems at the worst possible moments for him. Whenever the young France international starts building momentum, he suffers a niggle which sends him back to the physio.

Dembélé has certainly grown as a player since his big move to Barça. He has developed his right-footed game, and has become a better finisher. But parts of his game are still unpolished, and that can be attributed to his irregular form and availability.

This season, Dembélé has made just 9 appearances in all competitions, scoring a solitary goal. His recurrent hamstring injury has kept the youngster out of action, and has been nowhere near his best when he has played.

Ousmane Dembélé is one of the finest young players of his generation, and has enormous potential. But he cannot reach those heights if he does not sort out his fitness issues, which were pathetically on display against his former club in the Champions League.

Dembélé started against Borussia Dortmund, and was showing positive signs. He was just off a match-winning performance against Leganés, and was getting into good positions. But Dembélé aggravated his hamstring problem, and had to be taken off in the 26th minute.

Now, he has been ruled out for over 2 months. Over the course of these weeks, Dembélé will miss important games including the Clásico and the semi-final of the Supercopa de España against Atlético Madrid.

Barça are looking to rebuild the squad. Next season, the club will also have a new manager. Now, Barça need to determine whether Ousmane Dembélé is part of plans for the long-term future of the Blaugrana attack.