Euro 2020 – Dembele out of France squad for rest of Euros and could miss start of La Liga season with Barcelona

ByMichael Hincks

Updated 21/06/2021 at 10:15 GMT

Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele limped off during France’s draw against Hungary, and the 24-year-old’s knee injury will now see him miss the rest of Euro 2020. Dembele has been dogged by injuries during his time at Barca, and he could now be on the sidelines for the start of the 2021-22 La Liga campaign.

Ousmane Dembele will miss the remainder of Euro 2020 after picking up a knee injury in France’s draw with Hungary on Saturday.

France confirmed the Barcelona forward would not recover in time even if the nation progress deep into the knockout stages – the final takes place on July 11.

The 1-1 draw with Hungary leaves France top of Group F going into the final round of fixtures on Wednesday. France take on Portugal and Germany face Hungary.

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Dembele, who has 27 caps for France, underwent scans on Sunday at a Budapest hospital to discover the extent of the knee injury.

After discussions between the medical staff at both France and Barcelona it was agreed the player should leave the French camp.

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Spanish station Cadena SER reported Dembele could be out for two months, casting doubt on whether he will be fit for the start of the Liga campaign.

Dembele, 24, has been dogged by injuries since joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in 2017.

A string of hamstring injuries and muscle problems have made it difficult for Dembele to enjoy a long spell in the side at Barca.

He played just five league games in 2019-20, although he did go on to enjoy a relatively injury-free 2020-21 campaign, making 44 appearances in all competitions.

Dembele came off the bench in both Group F games so far, making a late showing against Germany before coming on in the 57th minute against Hungary – he was subbed off 30 minutes later.

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