Barcelona's injury list continues to grow after France manager Didier Deschamps revealed that Ousmane Dembele was struggling with a calf issue.
Xavi has been blessed with a near fully-fit squad for the majority of the 2022-23 campaign so far, but he has witnessed an array of first-team stars suffer injuries on international duty.
Jules Kounde was forced to come off in the first half of France's midweek UEFA Nations League win over Austria, while Memphis Depay and Frenkie de Jong have been sent home from the Netherlands camp with physical issues.
Uruguay centre-back Ronald Araujo was another casualty of the international period, and Xavi's side just cannot catch a break on the injury front, as Dembele has also entered the treatment room.
The 25-year-old made his first appearance for France since Euro 2020 in midweek, coming off the bench for the final 11 minutes against Austria in League A Group 1.
Victory over Das Team means that France's League A fate is in their own hands as they aim to avoid relegation to League B, but Deschamps is unsure if Dembele will be available for Sunday's pivotal encounter with Denmark.
"Ousmane felt discomfort in a calf and will train separately. We will review after the session," Deschamps told the press ahead of the showdown in Copenhagen.
"I will make changes, but I won't decide tonight. I will wait for the medical return and the feelings of the players. There will be changes, but I won't tell you how many."
Dembele's calf problem is the latest in a long line of injuries for the former Rennes and Borussia Dortmund starlet, who missed the first half of the 2021-22 campaign with the knee injury he sustained at Euro 2020.
The Frenchman was widely expected to leave in the January transfer window after entering the final six months of his deal, but he experienced a major turnaround in fortunes in the second half of the season.
After returning to fitness, Dembele came up with a league-high 13 assists in 21 La Liga matches and eventually agreed a new two-year deal at Camp Nou after becoming a free agent.
Dembele's new contract came with significantly reduced terms and no signing-on fee, but Barcelona supposedly included a £43m release clause in the deal, half of which will go to the player and his representatives if triggered.
The attacker has come up with two goals and four assists from his opening eight games of the 2022-23 season, taking his total for Barcelona to 34 strikes and 38 assists from 158 matches in all tournaments.
However, Dembele has missed a further 102 games at club level due to injury or illness since making the move to Barcelona in 2017, with the majority of his issues occurring in the hamstring area.
With Depay, De Jong, Araujo, Kounde and Dembele all victims of the international break, Barcelona boss Xavi has plenty to ponder for his side's return to La Liga action against Mallorca on October 1. body check tags ::
