Ousmane Dembele suffers fresh injury blow as Barcelona also confirm Andres Iniesta absence

Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele is set to be on the sidelines for around "three to four weeks" after suffering a fresh hamstring injury during the Catalan's 4-2 victory over Real Sociedad on Sunday [14 January].

The 20-year-old winger moved to the Nou Camp from Borussia Dortmund during the summer transfer window in deal worth €105m (£93.4m, $128.8m) plus €40m in add-ons.

He was expected to fill the gap left by the summer departure of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain but the France starlet has since instead spent most of his time at Barcelona in the Catalan's treatment room.

Earlier on September Dembele was indeed forced to undergo a surgery after rupturing the "tendon in his femoral bicep in his left thigh" during a clash with Getafe when he was only making his third appearance for the club.

The Frenchman spent more than three months on the sidelines as a result before returning to action during Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Celta Vigo in La Liga on 4 January.

Dembele has since made three more appearances, playing 25 minutes during the win over Real Sociedad after replacing Paulinho in the second half.

But the Frenchman will miss the upcoming games after Barcelona revealed that the winger suffered a new blow which "does not affect" the area previously operated during the clash at Anoeta.

"The victory in Anoeta on Sunday has brought bad news in the shape of an injury Ousmane Dembélé. After the game against Real Sociedad, Dembélé had a problem with his left thigh and test have confirmed that the player has suffered a hamstring injury of the semitendinosus muscle that does not affect the area operated on earlier in the season. The injury will mean he will be out for a period of around three to four weeks," the club revealed through an official statement.

Meanwhile, Barcelona confirmed a further blow for Ernesto Valverde with Andres Iniesta suffering a new problem in his calf.

The captain has been hit by different fitness problems since the beginning of the campaign and on Sunday [14 January] Valverde suggested that the Spanish midfielder was not 100% fit after leaving him on the bench during the full 90 minutes at Anoeta.

And Barcelona have now confirmed the worst ahead of a busy run of fixtures which will starts with the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals against Espanyol on Wednesday [17 January]

"Andres Iniesta, for his part, has a problem in his right calf and his recovery will determine his return to action for the coming matches," the La Liga giants added.

Valverde could therefore be without up to six first-team players to face Espanyol after Nelson Semedo, Samuel Umtiti, Paco Alcacer and new signing Philippe Coutinho also missed the win over Real due to different fitness problems.

Barcelona have not provided any update on the recovery of the four players but the club did confirm that Semedo, who was a late omission from the clash at Anoeta due to tonsillitis, remained on the sidelines when his teammates returned to training on Monday [15 January] morning.