Barcelona are reportedly concerned about Frenkie de Jong’s ongoing ankle injury, having played just 45 minutes since the start of March due to the problem.
De Jong initially sprained his ankle in September and missed around two months, before regaining fitness and playing consistently until breaking in the 26th minute of a La Liga clash with Athletic Club. After four days away, the Dutchman started the Clásico again against Real Madrid, but only lasted half-time before being withdrawn.
That brief outing at the Bernabéu on April 21 is De Jong’s last appearance. He missed Euro 2024 with the Netherlands, after withdrawing from the squad ahead of the tournament, and has been nowhere near a return for the early stages of the new season.
Local radio station RAC1 has stated that De Jong is still at risk of injury relapse because the affected ankle is still “sore”. But it can be more complicated than simply strengthening the ankle and could require surgery to clean it up completely.
Even if this is the definitive solution, there is no time frame for when De Jong can return to action, which presents Barça with a completely separate problem.
Midfield depth in Hansi Flick’s side is completely depleted, with the club still battling financial constraints and the transfer window closing at the end of the week.
Already without De Jong, on top of Gavi, and having let Ilkay Gundogan go, the Catalans hoped to have stumbled upon the next big thing with Marc Bernal. The 17-year-old started against Valencia, Athletic Club and Rayo Vallecano in La Liga but the ACL was torn against the latter.
The pursuit of N’Golo Kante was rejected by Flickwhile Barcelona did not sell Liverpool midfielder Stefan Bajcetic, who instead went to Red Bull Salzburg. Marc Casado, another product of La Masia who had already been promoted to the first team squad, looks set to start, while Pau Prim is another of the youngsters who may be more involved.
