De Jong's Knee Injury Worries Xavi and Barcelona
Frenkie de Jong’s season has not even started, and already it feels like it’s slipping away from him.
The Barcelona midfielder returned from the FIFA World Cup with what was initially described as a minor problem. He played through the pain, pushed his body for club and country, and paid the price. By the time he landed back in Catalonia, the discomfort had escalated into a serious right knee ligament issue.
The “minor” injury has now ruled him out of the opening months of the new campaign.
New Oranje boss, old concern
The situation has set off alarm bells not just at Barcelona, but also in the Netherlands. SPORT report that Xavi Hernandez, recently appointed as the new manager of the Dutch national team, is deeply worried by De Jong’s slow recovery.
He knows the player well. He knows what he can offer. And now he has to plan without him.
Xavi has stepped into the Oranje job once held by another Barcelona great, Ronald Koeman, and had hoped to build his midfield around De Jong. Instead, the 27-year-old remains stuck in conservative treatment, with no clear return date and no real progress.
The knee is not responding as hoped. That’s the blunt reality.
If that doesn’t change soon, surgery will move from a distant possibility to a very real decision. Go under the knife, and De Jong is out for a far longer spell, with the bulk of the season suddenly at risk.
Xavi’s debut on the Dutch touchline comes late in September. Barring a dramatic turnaround, De Jong will not be there.
A race against time – and competition
For De Jong, the frustration runs on two fronts.
On one side, there’s the rehab room, the exercises, the wait. On the other, there’s the pitch he cannot step onto, and a starting XI that is already evolving without him.
Barcelona have moved to protect themselves. Rodri has arrived to occupy the role De Jong normally makes his own. Every minute the new signing plays is another small step away from Frenkie’s old status as an automatic starter.
Winning that place back will not be straightforward, especially if the layoff drags on.
Yet the midfielder remains convinced he can avoid the operating table. De Jong believes the conservative approach will be enough, that the knee will settle without surgery.
The club hope he’s right. Because if he’s wrong, and surgery becomes unavoidable, Barcelona will be staring at a season largely without him – and any thoughts of a winter transfer would vanish with it.
