Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong ‘ruled OUT for the season’ after suffering an ankle injury in El Clasico defeat to Real Madrid… but there is hope for the Dutch midfielder’s Euro 2024 hopes
There is reportedly mixed news for Frenkie de Jong after the Dutch midfielder suffered an ankle injury during Barcelona’s 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid.
The 26-year-old was taken off just before half-time in the El Clasico, after a collision with Real Madrid star Federico Valverde.
It did not look promising for the former Ajax star, who looked to be in a considerable amount of pain as he was taken off on a stretcher.
ESPN have now reported that De Jong will not feature again for Barcelona this season.
However, it is said that he should be fit in time for this summer’s European Championship in Germany.
Frenkie de Jong suffered an ankle injury after a heavy collision with Federico Valverde
De Jong looked to be in some pain as he was taken off on a stretcher during the El Clasico
He reportedly won’t be fit for Xavi (left) and Barcelona again this season but it is expected he will be back in time to feature for Ronald Koeman’s (right) Netherlands side this summer
De Jong is an essential player for the Netherlands squad and Koeman will hope to have him fit
The Netherlands kick off the tournament against Poland on June 16, meaning De Jong has under two months to prove his fitness and get back to full speed, with his country also facing France and Austria in the group stage.
His ankle has been an issue this season with this being the third time that he has been ruled out because of it.
He missed 10 games between September and November after spraining his ankle in a match against Celta Vigo, before he was on the sidelines for another four games in March with a similar issue.
The injury came at a time when Barcelona – in a must-win match – were 1-1 with Real Madrid, after a Vinicius Jnr penalty cancelled out Andreas Christensen’s early goal.
Barcelona again went ahead through Fermin Lopez, before goals from Lucas Vazquez and Jude Bellingham effectively put one hand on the LaLiga trophy for Los Blancos.
The Catalan side have been hurt by injuries in the middle of the park this season, with Gavi not playing since November due to a cruciate ligament tear.
Pedri has also missed 14 LaLiga games for Xavi’s side due to hamstring issues.
Unless Real Madrid have a catastrophic collapse in the final six games of the season, Barcelona look to be in a fight for second, as they are just two points ahead of Girona – who they play away on May 4.
Meanwhile, there have been reports in recent days that Bayern Munich are interested in the former Man United target, and that Barcelona are hoping for offers of at least £50m.
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