Frenkie de Jong will miss Barcelona’s pre-season tour of the United States due to an ongoing ankle injury, according to a recent report.
De Jong struggled with ankle injuries throughout last season, which ultimately led to his withdrawal from the Dutch national team for Euro 2024 after failing to recover from an issue that arose in April.
Now, AS reports that both De Jong and Barcelona have decided that it would be best for him to stay behind while the rest of the squad travels to the United States. Instead, he will remain at home with the other injured players.
Joining De Jong on the injury list are Pedri, Gavi, Ronald Araujo, and Ansu Fati.
De Jong now faces a race against time to be fit for the new La Liga season.
Barcelona has been tight-lipped about De Jong’s condition, but Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has suggested that the injury might be more severe than publicly acknowledged.
“Frenkie played big games when he wasn’t ready to play,” Koeman said, pointing the finger at Barcelona for the player’s fitness issues. “He didn’t have match rhythm or even the training sessions to play the games against PSG. On one hand, I understand it, because it was an important moment of the season for Barca, but in the end it’s not been good for Frenkie.
“Of course I speak with him, we know each other well, he’s worried about his injury. Before the Euros, we hoped he would be ok. We knew he wouldn’t make the first game, but we had hope, but it wasn’t to be.
“He has a significant injury and we have to wait and see how it goes. I wish him luck and a speedy recovery, but he is still not ready to play.”
