Confidential SPORT: "And who's going to stop Dembele now?"

French forward Ousmane Dembele continues to work hard with the idea of being in the squad for the Real Madrid game on Dec. 23. 

In fact, his first question after undergoing surgery in Finland was: "Will I be able to play in the Clasico?" 

The answer from the doctor, Sakari Orava, was not negative and the player quickly posted an optimistic message on social media claiming he'd be back in two months -- the official downtime was a minimum of three-and-a-half months. 

Since then, Dembele has been working hard with Dec. 23 circles in red on his calendar. 

He's also been helped by the good feelings he's experienced during his recovery, given he's ticked off the phases quickly, without problems. 

Now, he's basically on the final straight. Since last Monday he has been working with the ball. A few days before then he'd promised to "be in full training in two weeks." 

That would, in theory, put him on the cusp of a Clasico return. 

However, the club feel it would be a risk to push him prematurely when it's not necessary. Coach Ernesto Valverde was the first to advise against the former Borussia Dortmund man rushing back. 

"Better to wait a week," Valverde said, who shares the same view as Barça's medical team. 

But no one has said anything to Dembele, who continues to work towards his objective. In the last meeting of those helping the player recover, a question was left in the air: "And who's going to stop Dembele now?" 

The answer was a significant silence.