Barcelona are reported to have concerns about Frenkie de Jong’s ongoing ankle injury, having played just 45 minutes since early March because of the problem.

De Jong initially suffered an ankle sprain in September and missed around two months, before recovering his fitness and playing consistently until breaking down 26 minutes into a clash with Athletic Club in La Liga. After four games out, the Dutchman was brought back to start El Clasico against Real Madrid but lasted only half-time before being withdrawn.

That brief outing at the Bernabeu on 21 April remains De Jong’s last appearance. He missed Euro 2024 with the Netherlands, after withdrawing from the squad ahead of the tournament, and hasn’t been close to returning in the early stages of the new season.

Local radio station RAC1 has claimed that De Jong is still at risk of injury relapse because the affected ankle remains “tender”. But it may be more complicated than simply strengthening the ankle and could require surgical intervention to clean it up completely.

Even if that is the ultimate solution, there is no timeframe for when De Jong might return to action, which present Barca with a whole separate problem.

Midfield depth in Hansi Flick’s squad is utterly threadbare, with the club still battling financial limitations the transfer window closing at the end of the week.

Already without De Jong, on top of Gavi, and having let Ilkay Gundogan leave, the Catalans hoped they had stumbled onto the next big thing with Marc Bernal. The 17-year-old started against Valencia, Athletic Club and Rayo Vallecano in La Liga but tore his ACL against the latter.

A pursuit of N’Golo Kante was rejected by Flick, while Barcelona missed out on a loan for Liverpool midfielder Stefan Bajcetic, who has gone to Red Bull Salzburg instead. Marc Casado, another La Masia product who had already been promoted to the first-team squad, looks set to step into a starting role, while Pau Prim is another from the youth ranks who may become more involved.

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