Ousmane Dembele was scheduled to start vs Liverpool in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final at Anfield this week.
But now the manager has confirmed that the forward will not play any part during the second leg.
Ousmane Dembele started against Celta Vigo this weekend but he only lasted about six minutes during the match.
The Frenchman was replaced by Alex Collado and the manager said after the match that Ousmane Dembele might just have suffered a muscle tear.
‘He is an important player for us and it is a major blow with the big games we have coming up,’ Valverde said(via Metro).
‘I didn’t replace him with Philippe Coutinho as I didn’t want to run any more risks.’
‘With Dembele, it looks like a tear. We had already noticed during the play that something was not right.
‘We were worried quickly because it seems like a muscular tear.
‘It is certainly not muscle fatigue because the other day he played very little [in the game against Liverpool].
‘These things happen and as a coach, I do not have an explanation.’
While many Liverpool fans are happy with the fact that the Frenchman will not be playing at Anfield but their joy might be very short lived.
The absence of Ousmane Dembele means Philippe Coutinho will retain his place from the first leg and the Brazilian will be itching to perform in front of the fans who used to cheer for his until last year.
Ousmane Dembele has so far scored 14 goals and made nine assists this season for Barcelona which means he will surely be a huge miss at Anfield.
But having said that, Coutinho is more than an apt replacement as the former Liverpool man has already scored 11 goals and provided five assists this season out of which three have come in the Champions League itself.
