Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong remains conspicuous by his absence this season, having still not recovered from an ankle ligament injury that he suffered in mid-April. Originally he was due to be back in mid-June, but relapsed during his recovery with the Netherlands, and has not been seen since.
Last week it emerged that Barcelona were willing to allow de Jong to test his ankle out, and see how it responded in training, but the Dutchman continues to train alone. RAC1 report that despite hopes he could return after this international break, he will not be fit to face Girona or AS Monaco in their Champions League debut.
‼️ Explicat al #TuDiràs @EsportsRAC1 🎙️Marta Ramon
👉🏻De Jong: ni quiròfan, ni reaparició
👉🏻No estarà a punt ni per Girona, ni tampoc Mònaco: no té data malgrat que al cos tècnic l’esperaven post-aturada
👉🏻No vol operar-se i continua fent treball individual per recuperar-se pic.twitter.com/r93t5yomLq
— El Barça juga a RAC1 (@FCBRAC1) September 9, 2024
This represents the last course of action that the Blaugrana wanted. While clearly they would be delighted if de Jong returned, especially given their injury crisis in midfield, if he was not able to, then their recommendation was to undergo surgery. De Jong remains against that course of action though, and will continue with the conservative treatment, trying to strengthen the area.
Ansu Fati is starting from scratch at Barcelona. Hansi Flick is excited to have him, and thinks the club shouldn't see him as a problem, but rather as a potential solution. @xavierbosch pic.twitter.com/mRQKkf2fm4
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 10, 2024
On the other hand, the return of Ansu Fati from his foot injury does look to be close, with many predicting that he will be back in the squad for their trip to Montilivi this summer. Fati was ruled out nearly two months ago with a foot injury, but has been taking part in group training again.
De Jong’s recovery time has already tripled the usual the norm, and Barcelona’s patience to wait for de Jong will surely be on the verge of expiry. During one of the reports on the matter last week, it was also mentioned that Barcelona already have the experience of players avoiding surgery causing issues in recent years, not mentioning Ansu Fati by name, and there is no end in sight for de Jong as things stand.
