3 players who must step up for Barcelona after Messi's injury

#2 Ousmane Dembele

Dembele would get improved opportunities due to Messi's injury

The World Cup winner, Ousmane Dembele, was brought in for a previous club record sum after he was signed from Dortmund in 2017 to replace Neymar, but an injury rampaged debut season meant that he never got the opportunity to convince the Barcelona faithful of his abilities.

After playing a fitting role in France's World Cup triumph, the 21-year-old returned to find his place further threatened by the arrival of Malcom from Bordeaux.

He, however, put those doubts behind him to start the season in explosive fashion, scoring the winner in the Spanish Super Cup against Sevilla, he further scored in four consecutive matches between August and September, one of which was a worldie against PSV in the UEFA Champions League and many believed this would be the season he established his status in the Barcelona team.

A poor turn of results, however, forced Valverde's hands into making changes. Arthur was introduced in midfield while Coutinho was pushed further forward with the resultant effect being that Dembele was once again relegated to the bench.

He has found chances hard to come by since then, but was the player brought on in place of Messi after he picked up the injury against Sevilla.

Messi's misfortune could very well turn out to be a silver lining for Dembele, as the Frenchman is the player most likely to benefit from his absence, and it is up to him to grab the opportunity to make a case for a place in the team with convincing performances in the upcoming fixtures.