Barcelona boss allays Ousmane Dembele and Gerard Pique injury fears after Celta Vigo thrashing

Ernesto Valverde has allayed injury fears over Ousmane Dembele and Gerard Pique after Barcelona beat Celta Vigo 5-0 on Thursday night [11 January] to reach the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey.

Dembele provided the assist for the fifth goal from Ivan Rakitic after coming on in the 59<sup>th minute of the game to replace Lionel Messi.

The France international also had time to show his pace and dribbling skills but appeared to end the game in some discomfort.

Meanwhile, Pique was replaced by Thomas Vermaelen at half-time with the Catalans already 4-0 ahead thanks to a brace from Messi and further goals from Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez.

Dembele's issue is of particular concern with the summer signing having just recovered from a serious hamstring injury which kept him on the sidelines for three-and-a-half months.

But Valverde played down those fears when asked about whether the Barcelona duo had sustained any injuries during the game.

"Ousmane's thing is nothing special. In the case of Gerard, it's nothing special either. He [had] some small discomfort and I was not willing to risk anything. He does not have anything important but with 4-0 I thought it was time to make the change," the Barcelona boss explained following the win over Celta.

"I have seen Ousmane very well. When he plays, something always looks like happening because of the pace and technique he has. He has something different to the others. He needs time to adapt but I think that today He's taken an important step. He has dared to do more."

Valverde added that he decided to take Messi off with 30 minutes remaining ahead of having him fresh for the La Liga trip to Real Sociedad.

"He's fine, we were on top and there's an important match on Sunday. It was just because of that," the Barcelona boss replied when asked about Messi's substitution.

Elsewhere, Valverde also welcomed the arrival of Yerry Mina after Barcelona confirmed an agreement with Palmeiras to sign the Colombia international in a deal worth around €11.8m (£10.5m, $14.3m).

The 23-year-old centre-back is expected to serve as the fourth choice centre-back behind Pique, Samuel Umtiti and Vermaelen once Javier Mascherano leaves the Nou Camp to complete his proposed transfer to Hebei China Fortune.

"Mina is a player that the club have been following for some time and we think he can help us. He's young, he has potential and he's confident. In that sense we think he can have a long future in our club," Valverde said.

"We'll see how he adapts to our style, the League, European football... He needs time to adapt, but we hope he can do it quick and he can help us this season."

Meanwhile, Barcelona have learned that Espanyol will be their opponents in the Copa del Rey last eight, with the first leg to be played on January 17 or 18 at the RCDE Stadium and the reverse fixture a week later at the Nou Camp.