Frenkie de Jong

“I don’t even know” – Frenkie de Jong fitness doubts confirmed by national team manager

Frenkie de Jong made his return to action in October, having been out for over five months due to a problematic ankle injury. Since making his long-awaited comeback, he has started only twice (vs Crvena Zvedza and Real Sociedad), although he was unable to reach 90 minutes in either appearance.

There are still plenty of doubts about de Jong’s condition, as his ankle has not fully recovered from the blow he sustained against Real Madrid in April. As per Sport, among those concerned is Ronald Koeman, who is the 27-year-old’s head coach at The Netherlands.

“Frenkie has spoken about his situation with his coach, Hansi Flick, in Barcelona. I have also spoken with Frenkie. But I don’t even know if he can play 90 minutes in a game.

“He can make a difference with the way he plays because he is a complete midfielder, but it remains to be seen how long it will take him to regain his best level. First we will play against Hungary, and then we will see.”

It will be interesting to see how much action de Jong sees over the international break, but Barcelona will hope that it’s not a lot. The best-case scenario would be him continuing his return to 100% sharpness without suffering any ill-effects.

Tags Barcelona Frenkie de Jong Ronald Koeman the Netherlands
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