.png)
2 months ago
20 ARTICLE AD
Last season was one to forget for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong as he suffered three injuries, all to his ankle, raising concerns within the club over his fitness.
The latest ankle injury that De Jong sustained came in April and even though it was expected that he would recover in time for the UEFA Euro 2024, that has not been the case.
The Netherlands international is yet to recover completely and the swelling in his ankle yesterday when he showed up for the start of the pre-season has led to worries within the club.
Surgery not ruled out
Now, SPORT reports that beyond the obvious swelling of De Jong’s right ankle, what really worries the Barcelona medical services and the coaching staff at the moment is the situation of the external lateral ligament of that ankle.
Over the last few weeks, and after being left out of the Netherlands squad for the European Championship, De Jong has been undergoing regular consultations at the Ciutat Esportiva.
De Jong has been on the sidelines since April. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)De Jong has been very careful with the ligament as he seeks to regain lost stability, but the time has come to start increasing the workload and put the ankle under more pressure.
There are two scenarios currently being considered: the first invites a conservative approach to the ankle to see if it responds adequately and he can continue with the current recovery process in the hope of being ready for the final stretch of pre-season.
The second is rather more drastic. If the right ankle shows signs of instability, the threat of surgery will begin to loom large.
It should be borne in mind that an arthroscopic operation would keep him off the pitch for approximately a couple of months. In other words, he would miss the start of the season.
Now all that is left to do is to determine the real strength of the ankle and, in particular, to assess the stability of the external lateral ligament before deciding on what approach to follow.
