'Dembele will be back with the ball in November and could return against Madrid'

Orava said: "His recovery is going better than expected and in November he will be back playing with the ball.

"He already said he wanted to return before we planned but we don't know if that will be possible," explained the renowned Finnish doctor.

"Could he play against Madrid? It's possible, but we can't be certain at all," he said after being asked if the young winger could feature in the match on December 23rd.

Orava said that Dembele's recovery is being monitored by Barcelona doctor Ricard Puna and he revealed that the 20-year-old is already in the sand pit trying to strengthen the muscles affected by the injury.

"He is already training in the beach sand which Barcelona have and I think by November he will be playing with the ball. If he were to make any extra effort at the moment there could be a relapse, but if he takes it easy it will all be alright," explained Orava.

Dembele was injured on just his second appearance for Barcelona after joining from Borussia Dortmund in the summer and so the fans are still excited to see how the club's record signing will perform with the Catalan giants.