Ousmane Dembele recovering 'slower than expected'

Barcelona will reportedly once again be without Ousmane Dembele for this weekend's meeting with Atletico Madrid as the French forward's recovery is going slower than expected.

Dembele has endured a largely injury-plagued career at Camp Nou since being made the third-most expensive player in world football 20 months ago.

The 21-year-old, who has since been overtaken by teammate Philippe Coutinho in that list, has not exactly repaid his £135m transfer fee as he has started just 27 La Liga games over the past two seasons.

Having missed five months of his maiden campaign with a hamstring injury, Dembele has also been absent chunks of this season, most recently sitting out Barca's last three matches since pulling up against Lyon on March 13.

Spanish outlet AS reports that the ex-Borussia Dortmund ace will definitely miss Saturday's visit of second-placed Atletico, as Barcelona's medical staff are unwilling to take any risks.

The Catalan giants may have Dembele back for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester United next week.