Barcelona midfielder will be unavailable vs Girona; still no clarity over return date

Heading into the international break, there was talk of Barcelona possibly recovering Frenkie de Jong from injury once the two-week hiatus was over.

Indeed, it had been suggested that the 27-year-old, who has been out since April with an ankle injury, could return after the international break, along with Ansu Fati.

De Jong still not ready for a comeback

However, now, MARCA reports that, as things stand, Frenkie de Jong will not be making his comeback this weekend against Girona at Estadi Montilivi.

The report suggests that the Dutch midfielder is still feeling discomfort from his ankle issue and as such there is still no clear return date set for him.

This is obviously a concerning issue for Barcelona considering that De Jong has been out for almost five months now.

The possibility of undergoing surgery has been suggested to the midfielder but he is reluctant to do so while being not ready to make a comeback onto the pitch without completely getting rid of any discomfort.

Speaking of De Jong’s condition prior to the game against Real Valladolid, manager Hansi Flick had said:

“I hope he doesn’t have to have surgery. He is recovering and making progress. Now we have to wait how he evolves with this training load. I hope to have him back after the international break, but I can’t confirm it yet. We’ll see what happens after the break.”

However, at the moment, there is no still clarity about when De Jong will be making his comeback.

There are some within the club who are leaning towards the ex-Ajax man undergoing surgery but the player himself is intent on continuing with conservative treatment.

For now, what is clear is that De Jong is unlikely to be available when Barcelona take on Girona on Sunday.