The French winger is close to a return but the club are taking no risks

Ousmane Dembele went to the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper this morning to continue his recovery from injury, on a day that Xavi Hernández had given free time to players who have not been called up for international duty. He worked out in the gym, but also on the grass.

The Frenchman was injured two months ago, on January 28 against Girona at Montilivi. The striker lasted until the 25th minute, when he was replaced by Pedri, who scored the only goal of the game, giving Barça the three points.

Since then he has missed eleven games for Barça: eight in La Liga (Betis, Sevilla, Villarreal, Cádiz, Almería, Valencia, Athletic Club and Real Madrid), two in the Europa League (the two-legged tie against Manchester United) and one in the Copa del Rey (the first leg of the semi-finals against Real Madrid).

He will miss visit to the Martínez Valero to face Elche on April 1 and, probably, the second leg of the Copa semi-final against Real Madrid at the Spotify Camp Nou. He is expected to miss four to five weeks.

Although his recent physical record was immaculate, recent precedents with other players and the fact that he has such an explosive profile has led to absolute caution. Thus, it was decided to wait until after the break for him to rest and not be called up by Deschamps. Barça did not want to take any risks, nor did they want to take any risks with Pedri.