Barcelona star could miss pre-season through injury

An alarming update on the wellbeing of Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong has come to the fore on Thursday.

The info comes courtesy of Diario Sport, citing ARA, and points towards the midfielder as potentially being in line for a more extended spell on the sidelines than first predicted.

De Jong, for his part, is of course currently in the midst of his latest injury absence.

After picking up an ankle problem late in the campaign, the former Ajax talent was ultimately forced to pull out of the Netherlands’ squad for Euro 2024.

The hope was that as much came as a precaution as much as anything else, with De Jong having been tipped to link back up with his Barcelona teammates under the watch of new manager Hansi Flick for the beginning of pre-season.

As alluded to above, however, if ensuing word to have surfaced in the media on Thursday is anything to go by, this is beginning to look increasingly unlikely.

As per Sport:

‘According to information, the Dutchman’s pre-season is now in jeopardy.’

De Jong, it is claimed, is experiencing increasing discomfort on each occasion on which he attempts to train.

‘But the most alarming aspect of this information is the complexity of his injury in the medium and long term. The problems he has in the syndesmosis of the ankle are difficult to detect, treat and prevent from becoming chronic,’ it is added.

An altogether concerning development for the incoming Hansi Flick, who intends to lean heavily on De Jong as one of his two deep-lying midfield operators.

Conor Laird | GSFN