Netherlands withdraws Frenkie de Jong and heads back to Barcelona

FC Barcelona

DE JONG RETURNS TO BARCELONA WITH PERMISSION FROM THE DUTCH NATIONAL TEAM

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With Frenkie de Jong, caution must be taken. The Dutch midfielder is not yet at 100% physically, and it is necessary to manage his participation in the matches. For this reason, the Netherlands coach, Ronald Koeman, has decided to do without him for the match this Tuesday (20:45 CET) in Bosnia, considering it would be an unnecessary risk to play him since the national team is already qualified for the Nations League quarterfinals. Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool defender, has also been left out of the call-up.

De Jong will return to Barcelona, where the club's doctors plan to assess and check the condition of his ankle. The player has already explained that he will need to take care of that area of his body for an extended period after each match. In the match against Hungary, he played for 68 minutes and admitted that he still lacks full fitness. "Normally, I felt that I recovered my level quite quickly after an injury. Now it is different; I have more sequelae from this. I still feel discomfort at certain times, but I also need to regain confidence to make certain movements. That is only achieved by playing matches. Hopefully, the pain will disappear on its own. I just have to keep playing and training. I hope to be in shape and feel better soon. Physical fitness will return naturally," he stated.

With his return, De Jong will have time to rest his ankle and prepare, without physical overload, for the match this Saturday against Celta de Vigo at Balaídos. Hansi Flick should have no problem counting on the Dutch midfielder, who in the last match before the break against Real Sociedad had to leave the field in the second half after receiving a blow to the ankle and shin.