Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong remains out of action four months on from an injury sustained in a collision with Fede Valverde. An injury that was supposed to take six weeks to heal continues without improvement.
As per RAC1 and quoted by Sport, de Jong’s ankle remains tender, and in a fragile state. It has not improved much over the last month, and if he does test it out, he is at high risk of relapse. They go on to report that in order to return to full fitness, de Jong will likely have to undergo surgery, which would keep him out for multiple months. So far he has opted for a conservative treatment and is expected to come back towards the end of September
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Of course, de Jong initially harboured hopes of playing Euro 2024, and his decision not to go ahead with surgery was understandable. However with Marc Bernal ruled out for the next year, the urgency to get de Jong back on the pitch has increased significantly at Barcelona. The only clear alternatives to anchor the midfield are defenders Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen, as well as youngster Marc Casado, none of which are ideal options.
