Barcelona star set to make long-awaited injury comeback against Real Betis on Saturday: Reports

Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele is reportedly set to make a long-awaited comeback from injury when his team faces Real Betis in La Liga on Saturday (April 29).

A recent report by Sky Sports claimed that the Frenchman would return for Barcelona's La Liga encounter against Atletico Madrid on April 23. He was left out of the matchday squad as his team won 1-0 at home.

Journalist Javi Miguel of AS, via BarcaUniversal, has now claimed that Dembele is also likely to miss Barca's La Liga outing against Rayo Vallecano on April 26. Instead, he is expected to return to the matchday squad for the league game against Real Betis.

Dembele has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury in his team's 1-0 league win against Girona on January 28. He is expected to return to Xavi Hernandez's starting XI and replace Raphinha in the pecking order.

The former Borussia Dortmund winger registered eight goals and seven assists in 28 games across competitions before his injury in January. The Catalan giants worked hard to renew his contract for another two years last summer. He is considered untouchable by the club.

Barcelona are not active in any other competitions apart from La Liga and have just eight games remaining this season. This would allow Xavi to manage his squad in a more efficient manner and not risk any injuries. They are right now 11 points clear atop the league table after 30 games.

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Xavi gives verdict on Barcelona star's poor form after Atletico Madrid win

Robert Lewandowski's tally of 27 goals and seven assists in 38 games across competitions for Barcelona makes for impressive reading.

However, the 34-year-old has scored just two goals in his last 10 matches for club and country combined. Both of those strikes came in Barca's 4-0 La Liga victory against Elche on April 1.

The Poland superstar was ineffective as his team eked out a narrow 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid on Sunday. He even missed a glorious chance to double his team's lead in the 76th minute, for which he was heavily criticized by fans.

Xavi Hernandez, however, seems relaxed about the former Bayern Munich striker's situation at the club. Backing 'Lewa' to rediscover his goal-scoring form, he said after the win at Spotify Camp Nou (via BarcaUniversal):

"He was successful in a large part of the season, now not so much, but the goals will come. All forwards want to score. Those who don’t score are sad, it’s the life of a forward. He’s the top scorer in the league with 17 goals, imagine How will the others be?"

Lewandowski won the Golden Boot in seven of his last nine seasons in the Bundesliga.