Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong twisted his ankle on Sunday night against Athletic Club, coming off before the half-hour mark. The Dutchman landed awkwardly after an aerial challenge, and it is set to keep him out for at least four games.
Without question, he will miss the coming three matches against Real Mallorca, Napoli and Atletico Madrid before the international break, when he will be absent for the Netherlands too. Ronald Koeman’s side take on Scotland and Germany in friendlies towards the end of March.
❗ 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗗𝗢 𝗠𝗘́𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗢
➡ De Jong sufre un esguince en el ligamento lateral externo del tobillo derecho
➡ Pedri tiene una lesión en el recto femoral del muslo derechoAmbos son baja y su evolución marcará su disponibilidad pic.twitter.com/RN0yfjrFhj
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) March 4, 2024
Sport say that in the best-case scenario, de Jong could be back for their league clash with Las Palmas on the 30th of March, but more likely is that he will be out until after the Copa del Rey final on the 6th of April. If Barcelona should qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals, then de Jong could be back for that first leg on the 9th or 10th of April. If they do not, then Cadiz away the following weekend (13th/14th) will be his next outing in all likelihood, although like Pedri, his recovery will depend on his progress.
🚨 Marc Casadó, Pau Prim and Marc Bernal are options to replace Pedri and Frenkie de Jong. @ferrancorreas
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 4, 2024
Barcelona confirmed Pedri had a right thigh injury, and that de Jong had an ankle strain, but no update has been given on the Canary Islander’s recovery, although he is expected to avoid surgery.
The Blaugrana will have just four natural midfielders going into their crucial run before the international break, and only Ilkay Gundogan can be considered a regular of those options, although Andreas Christensen seems likely to continue being pushed further forward. In particular, the clash against Napoli next week looks signficantly more difficult than it did last night.
