Barcelona's De Jong out for season, ready for Euros
FC Barcelona will be without midfielder Frenkie de Jong for the rest of the season after the Dutch midfielder suffered a badly twisted ankle in Sunday's 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid.
Vinicius Jr. (R) of Real Madrid vies with Frankie de Jong of Barcelona during the Spain's Copa del Rey (King's Cup) semifinal first leg football match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in Madrid, Spain, March 2, 2023. (Photo by Pablo Morano/Xinhua)
De Jong was carried off the pitch at the Santiago Bernabeu in obvious pain after a challenge with Real Madrid's Federico Valverde.
Both players went for a 50-50 ball in the closing moments of the first half, with De Jong coming off worse, damaging his right ankle as his foot was bent backwards by the impact.
After receiving treatment on the pitch, he tried to walk off, but was unable to and needed to be stretchered to the dressing room, being immediately replaced by Pedri.
Tests carried out on Monday confirmed De Jong has suffered a grade two ankle sprain.
The good news for De Jong is that although he will miss the rest of La Liga, the injury shouldn't stop him competing in the European Championships, which kicks off on June 14, with the Netherlands facing Croatia two days later.
De Jong has already missed around three months of the season due to ankle problems.