Valverde: Dembele's inexperience contributed to his injury

Ernesto Valverde's resurrection of Barcelona suffered a setback at Getafe CF, as Ousmane Dembele ruptured the biceps femoris tendon in his left thigh and will be out of action for three-and-a-half to four months. The French forward left the game in the 29th minute, after deploying a back-heel flick that could have potentially caused the injury.

On Monday, at a press conference in which the bulk of the queries centred on Dembele's injury, Valverde admitted that "a veteran player may have avoided" making the movement.

Dembele, who joined Barcelona for €105 million plus add-ons, flew to Finland on Monday and will undergo surgery on Tuesday.

Asked if Dembele may have already been injured before the game, Valverde said: "I don't think we need to read too much into things like this. When players are warming up, they stretch their thighs and their knees, their hamstrings. He's a player who has never had muscle problems in the past, so he perhaps doesn't have the experience to recognise those little discomforts that he may have. He's a player who is very fast and the movement he made was one of the worst things you can do for your hamstring.

"It's not to say that it was normal, but there is a great probability to be injured when you make a move like that, and a veteran player may have avoided that knowing that that movement is a very aggressive movement. I know that because the same thing happened to me when I was a player."

Valverde also answered a question on whether the field conditions at Getafe can be blamed for Dembele's injury, declaring: "I don't think the condition of the field had any decisive role in this particular incident, but yes, I would like all fields to be in the same kind of condition. I think it would be good for the game."

According to Marca, Dembele's injury will save the club money. One of the reported variables in his transfer to Barcelona was that an additional €10 million would be paid if he played 50 games for the Blaugrana this season.