Dembélé's injury was a recurring point of discussion at Ernesto Valverde's press conference ahead of their clash with Eibar. The Barcelona coach wanted to play down the situation, but spoke of inexperience when it came to the player's handling of his discomfort.
"There's need to go over it again and again. When a player's on the pitch, there's always some sort of niggle. Dembélé didn't have the experience to recognise the small pains, or the actions that can exacerbate them the most. Backheels are the worst actions when it comes to femural biceps, and a more experienced player might not have done it," Valverde reflected.
With regards to the injury, the 'Culé' coach said that it's the "hardest one for a player" to deal with, but insisted that Dembélé needed to take it calmly.
"You have to stay patient, that's what his task is. He's young and it's another difficulty. You hope it never happens, but one way or another we all have to overcome setbacks."
What Valverde didn't want to point his finger at was the pitch at the Coliseum, although he did leave a comment on the situation.
"There's rules that try to establish more or less universal criteria. Each team plays with its preferred weapons. We want the pitch to be in the best condition possible, but we don't have anything else to add."
On the possible candidates to take the place of the former Dortmund winger, Valverde mentioned a range of possibilities.
"We have lots of players in the team. Deulofeu, Aleix Vidal, Denis, Andrè Gomes... I prefer focussing on my team but we always have our eyes out [on the B team]."
Despite the setback, the Barcelona coach prefers to look forward. "It's an accumulation of circumstances. Instead of pitying ourselves and looking backwards, we need to be thinking that we're now one day closer to having Dembélé back."
Valverde, who gave his squad "a 10", said that Aleix Vidal is a player "who is training well, and has depth", also praising Suarez' character. "It's his style and way of tackling everything. He's very expressive, it's true, but his work always makes us happy."
He went on to say that Arda would play "if I find it convenient", reaffirming that the "general idea is that all of our players come from the squad." Rafinha, however, remains sidelined. "I dont have a date to be able to say anything, so we have to keep on waiting".
Of course, Valverde gave his thoughts on the Eibar clash. "They have a clear style - they're going to sniff you out and not let you play. They try to play the game in their court so you have no way out."