Ernesto Valverde has faced the media to preview the clash against Lyon which will take place on Wednesday night.
The main question ahead of the fixture is, of course, Ousmane Dembele’s participation with the forward suffering from the knock he got during the clash against Rayo Vallecano.
Valverde says that the issue will be decided based on Dembele’s fitness in the team’s final training on Tuesday evening:
“Dembele? Today we will see how he is and then we will decide if he plays. If he’s not okay, he will not play. It’s an important game but we do not want to risk this.”
Barcelona haven’t provided any official update on the player’s health since confirming the injury after the Rayo clash.
On Monday, Mundo Deportivo report that Dembele missed the first team’s training session while Diario AS claim that instead of a workout Dembele had successful treatment with the club’s physiotherapist and, as a result, he could return to training on Tuesday afternoon. In that case, his participation in Lyon clash will be decided in the last moment depending on the level of fitness shoed during the aforementioned session.
Philippe Coutinho and Malcom are the two main candidates to replace the French winger in case his injury is worrying enough for the coaching staff.