Dembele to undergo surgery on Tuesday

Barcelona's record 105m euros ($125m) signing Ousmane Dembele will undergo surgery on the torn hamstring that has ruled him out of action for up to four months in Helsinki on Tuesday. "Dembele travelled on Monday morning to Helsinki, Finland, where he will undergo surgery to repair a rupture of the biceps femoris tendon in his left thigh," Barcelona said in a statement on Monday. "Dembele was accompanied by team physician, Dr. Ricard Pruna. Dembele will be operated on Tuesday by Dr. Sakari Orava." In pictures published by Spanish sports daily Marca, Dembele needed the aid of a wheelchair as he left Barcelona airport for the Finnish capital.

Impactante la imagen de Dembélé en silla de ruedas, rumbo a Finlandia para su operación. ¡Mucho ánimo! https://t.co/GEq9Xk1J38 pic.twitter.com/MR3oNUZXrx

— MARCA (@marca) September 18, 2017

The French international has made just three appearances for Barca since sealing his move from Borussia Dortmund last month for a fee that could rise to as much as 145m euros based on performance-related bonuses. However, he looks set to miss the rest of the year after pulling his hamstring just 29 minutes into Saturday's 2-1 win at Getafe.

Bad news for Barcelona after Ousmane Dembélé injures hamstring, ruling him out "for between three and a half months and four months".#UCL pic.twitter.com/RxKnt23CmC

— #UCL (@ChampionsLeague) September 17, 2017

The 20-year-old may have paid a heavy price for missing most of his pre-season preparation as he went on strike from training at Dortmund to try and force through his dream move to the Camp Nou. He will be sidelined for the rest of Barca's Champions League group campaign and faces a race against time to take part in the first El Clasico of the season against Real Madrid on December 23. At international level, Dembele will also be absent for France's final two World Cup qualifiers away to Bulgaria and at home to Belarus next month.

How will Barcelona cope without injured forward Ousmane Dembélé?

Ernesto Valverde's options in the #UCL ??? https://t.co/LAUQPF0T7l

— #UCL (@ChampionsLeague) September 18, 2017