Barcelona Turf was both dry and long

The thigh injury picked up by Ousmane Dembele during Barcelona's 2-1 win at Getafe could have been as a result of the condition of the pitch at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez.

Before the Blaugrana signed him from Borussia Dortmund, the reports on the youngster were very complimentary both in terms of his ability, his durability and reliability.

Prior to the weekend's action, Dembele had not picked up a major injury in his career, with the only significant spell out coming at Dortmund when he missed 10 days with a mild illness.

Given that history, Barcelona are looking for reasons to explain why their forward suffered such a serious muscle injury in what was just his third game for the club.

Dembele now faces a minimum of three months out of action due to a ruptured tendon in the femoral bicep of his left thigh and will undergo an operation on it in Finland this week.

Barcelona deeply regret the misfortune that befell their big summer signing and are firm in their belief that one of the reasons that the 20-year-old picked up the injury is the condition of the playing surface at Getafe.

Senior sources within the club consulted by MARCA were left very unhappy that the grass at the stadium had not been watered and was heavy underfoot, with Pepe Bordalas also having to take off Gaku Shibasaki, who picked up an ankle knock.

Barcelona believe that the grass must be short and wet in order for the ball to run smoothly and allow them to play their dynamic game, which is why they take such close care of their own playing field at the Camp Nou.

Within the club, they are of the belief that for the 'best league in the world', all pitches must meet minimum requirements in terms of quality.

In fact, the Azulgrana have not ruled out raising a formal complaint so that regulation can be introduced to prevent this kind of situation occurring in the future.

Criticism of the turf was a theme from the players when discussing the victory with reporters afterwards.

"It is a good three points because it was a field that couldn't be played on," said Gerard Deulofeu.

"It seems that the pitch was a way to put us into trouble," Marc-Andre ter Stegen pointed out.