The former Celtic star is said not to have travelled with the rest of his Lyon team-mates to Scotland as summer signing Xherdan Shaqiri is also said to have been left behind due to Covid-19 protocol reasons.
This news, courtesy of RadioScoop, comes after it was announced three players from the visiting squad would be granted exemptions to travel having previously returned from international duty in red-list countries.
Tino Kadewere, Lucas Paqueta and Bruno Guimaraes will all be available to take on Steven Gerrard’s men at Ibrox in the match first of the Europa League group stages.
The loss of Dembele, however, would be a big blow. The Frenchman has started the campaign with four goals in five games and previously netted seven times against Rangers during his time in Scotland with their arch-rivals.