Early season injuries continue to be an issue for Barcelona with Frenkie de Jong leaving the Netherlands camp early.
De Jong suffered an injury while playing for the Netherlands against Robert Lewandowski’s Poland. The midfielder was deemed unfit to play the second match of the Netherlands’ September World Cup qualifier games and instead returned to Barcelona to undergo further testing.
Barcelona released a statement on Monday detailing De Jong’s health status. “[De Jong] has suffered a slight injury to the external obturator muscle [groin] in his right leg. His recovery will determine his availability,” the statement read.
Current Netherlands manager and former Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman said he didn’t believe De Jong’s injury to be overly serious. Yet, it would’ve been “too risky” to play him against Lithuania over the weekend.
Although Barcelona didn’t offer a concrete recovery timeline, according to Mundo Deportivo Hansi Flick will be cautious with De Jong meaning the midfielder could miss out on Barça’s upcoming clash vs. Valencia this Sunday.
The hope is that De Jong is good to go for Barcelona’s visit to Newcastle United in their Champions League league phase opener on Thursday, Sept. 18.
However, Barcelona could suddenly have a very thin midfield heading into the match against Valencia. Gavi is also dealing with pain in the same knee where he suffered a torn ACL and his availability for the upcoming game remains in serious doubt.
If De Jong is also unavailable, then Marc Casadó appears to be the only realistic option to play alongside Pedri in Barcelona’s midfield pivot. Marc Bernal is nearing a return to the pitch as he’s in the final steps of his ACL tear recovery. However, it might be to soon to expect him to play against Valencia.
The versatile Eric Garcia could also feature in midfield as he did last year, but he’s clearly an emergency option that Flick would only turn to if Casadó is also unavailable.
The lack of options might be a reason why Barcelona opt to be cautious with De Jong, hoping he’s fully recovered in time for the trip to St. James’ Park.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona Offer Frenkie De Jong Injury Update, Potential Absence Length Revealed.
