As reported by Mohamed Bouhafsi of RMC Sport, Barcelona and France forward Ousmane Dembele has been ruled out of the UEFA Euro 2020 after picking up an injury in the last game against Hungary.
Dembele was not a part of France’s starting lineup for their opening game of the European Championships against Germany, coming on as a substitute in stoppage time. The 24-year-old was once again left out on the bench for the contest versus Hungary this past weekend.
Dembele did get a chance in the second half as he replaced Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot in the 57th minute. However, the Barcelona attacker’s stay on the pitch lasted just 30 minutes before he had to be taken off with an injury to his knee.
It has now been confirmed that the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner with Les Bleus will play no further part in the UEFA Euro 2020.
The injury that the 24-year-old has suffered is more serious than initially expected, with Cadena SER’s Santi Ovalle claiming that he could be sidelined for as long as two months. This could mean that Dembele could miss Barcelona’s pre-season that is scheduled to kick off next month while he may be touch and go for the start of the 2021/22 season.
It is yet another setback in what has been a frustrating time at Camp Nou for Dembele. The attacker, since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in a mega-money deal in 2017, has constantly struggled with injuries in the four years since, missing an incredible 86 games due to fitness problems.
While those problems seemed to be a thing of the past in the season gone by under Ronald Koeman, Dembele has been dealt another blow with this latest knee injury. The 24-year-old is said to have left the France camp following the development, with the world champions unlikely to call up a replacement.
