Barcelona face Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Friday night, and Ousmane Dembele could potentially hand them a fitness boost.
The Catalan giants saw off Napoli last week and will now travel to Lisbon on Thursday for the next round, as they hope to keep their chances of winning silverware this season alive.
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It certainly won’t be easy against a top-class Bayern side, and so Quique Setien will be desperate to have as close to a fully-fit squad at his disposal as possible.
According to Mundo Deportivo, while Lionel Messi trained on Tuesday with a bandage on his leg, he will be fit to face Bayern. Further, Dembele is expected to travel with the rest of the squad after returning to training a week ago and having not suffered any setbacks since, he is being tipped to be included in the group that faces Bayern.
Time will tell how involved he might be as his lack of playing time over the last six months will surely mean he’s lacking in match fitness, but ultimately with his pace and directness giving Barcelona a different dynamic in the final third, he could be a useful option to have off the bench if they need to turn the game around late on.
The 23-year-old has seen another season go by that has been blighted by injury problems, as he has been limited to just nine appearances this year and has managed to contribute just one goal.
Nevertheless, his pace and movement could be a game-changer if Barcelona need a different look in attack on Friday night, and so they will be desperate to have him available for selection as the report above notes he’s scheduled to get the green light from the medical team this week.
Either way though, with the quality on show for either side, it promises to be a fascinating battle between two giants of European football.