The French winger has been diagnosed with a hamstring injury.

Barcelona has been dealt a massive injury blow with winger Ousmane Dembele set for another spell on the sidelines. The 22-year-old Frenchman has been ruled out of action after picking up a knock in Friday's La Liga curtain-raiser against Athletic Club de Bilbao.

Dembele endured the whole duration of the encounter at San Mames but did the bare minimum with his side falling to a 1-0 defeat at the end. In the course of the proceeding, the former Borussia Dortmund star was pictured feeling his thigh, raising speculations of potentially picking up an injury.

On Monday, Barcelona released a statement confirming the winger's plight and the Spanish league champions will now have to cope without him for over a month.

"A medical examination on Ousmane Dembélé has diagnosed a strain of his left hamstring," the Blaugrana stated on their website.

"The Frenchman is set to be out for approximately five weeks as a result."

Manager Ernesto Valverde is set to face a selection dilemma in the coming weeks with star striker Luis Suarez also ruled with with an ankle injury. The 32-year-old Uruguayan forward did not complete Friday's game at San Mames and is set to miss up to three matches for Los Blaugrana. His earliest return is slated for the second week of September.

Meanwhile, skipper of the side Lionel Messi is set to return to the fold after missing this summer's preseason tour with a foot injury. With Philippe Coutinho also completing a loan move to Bayern Munich, Barca is now very thin in its attack and would  rely on summer signing Antoine Griezmann to get the goals.