Barcelona boss Xavi hints Ousmane Dembele could start against Napoli

Barcelona head coach Xavi has not ruled out Ousmane Dembele starting in the first leg of their Europa League playoff tie against Napoli on Thursday night.

The Catalan giants attempted to force the 24-year-old out of the club in January after he refused to extend his contract, which expires in June; however, the deadline passed with the winger remaining at Camp Nou.

Since then, Dembele made his first appearance for Barca in over a month when he came on as a substitute in the 2-2 draw against rivals Espanyol on Sunday.

Speaking to the press ahead of Thursday's European tie, Xavi said: "We don't rule out that [Dembele] can play at home or away.

"Whether he plays or not depends only on how the players train and who is better or worse. He can play. He already did it against Espanyol and he helped us a lot for 20 minutes.

"He is going to help us for sure until the end of the season because he is a great player. He is one of the squad and he will play when we need him and when we believe he can help us compete and win."

Xavi is, however, unable to call upon Ansu Fati (hamstring), Samuel Umtiti (foot), Sergi Roberto (thigh) and Alejandro Balde (ankle) due to injury, while Dani Alves is ineligible after he was not selected in Barcelona's Europa League squad.