Barca's Dembele won't play in Clasico
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has said Ousmane Dembele will not be back for next weekend's Clasico despite returning to training this week.
Dembele has not played since rupturing a tendon against Getafe in September, initially ruling him out for four months.
However, the France forward has returned to training ahead of schedule, sparking reports that he could be available for the trip to Real Madrid on Dec. 23.
However, Valverde said Dembele would not be back in action until January, stressing that there was no need to take risks with the club's record signing.
"He has been doing a lot more with the group this week, but he hasn't completed a full training session yet," the coach told a news conference on Saturday.
"Next week we will increase his workload, but the plan is the same as before. January is when we hope he will come back.
"It would be premature -- risky, even -- to bring him back [early]. Our idea at the moment is to leave it until January."
Before Barca's trip to the Bernabeu for the season's first Clasico , they host Deportivo La Coruna at the Camp Nou on Sunday.
And despite media focus drifting towards next Saturday, Valverde said the players had not been distracted by the looming Madrid clash.
"No, the Clasico is not affecting the players," he added. "They're worried about Sunday's game.
"We know we have a week after to then think about the
Clasico, so by no means are we distracted by the
Clasico."
Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez are a booking away from a suspension and would miss the trip to Madrid if they were to get a yellow card against Depor.
Valverde said that was something "to have in mind" but did not confirm whether it would influence his team selection.
He was adamant that he would not underestimate Depor, who have shown signs of improvement under new coach Cristobal Parralo, as Barca look to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 24 games.
Dembele has not played since rupturing a tendon against Getafe in September, initially ruling him out for four months.
However, the France forward has returned to training ahead of schedule, sparking reports that he could be available for the trip to Real Madrid on Dec. 23.
However, Valverde said Dembele would not be back in action until January, stressing that there was no need to take risks with the club's record signing.
"He has been doing a lot more with the group this week, but he hasn't completed a full training session yet," the coach told a news conference on Saturday.
"Next week we will increase his workload, but the plan is the same as before. January is when we hope he will come back.
"It would be premature -- risky, even -- to bring him back [early]. Our idea at the moment is to leave it until January."
Before Barca's trip to the Bernabeu for the season's first Clasico , they host Deportivo La Coruna at the Camp Nou on Sunday.
And despite media focus drifting towards next Saturday, Valverde said the players had not been distracted by the looming Madrid clash.
"No, the Clasico is not affecting the players," he added. "They're worried about Sunday's game.
"We know we have a week after to then think about the
Clasico, so by no means are we distracted by the
Clasico."
Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez are a booking away from a suspension and would miss the trip to Madrid if they were to get a yellow card against Depor.
Valverde said that was something "to have in mind" but did not confirm whether it would influence his team selection.
He was adamant that he would not underestimate Depor, who have shown signs of improvement under new coach Cristobal Parralo, as Barca look to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 24 games.
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