Barcelona midfielder ‘still a long way off’ from 100% fitness claims NT manager

After over five months out on the sidelines, FC Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong finally made his comeback to on-field action earlier this month.

The 27-year-old, having sufficiently recovered from his ankle injury, came on as a substitute in Barcelona’s 5-0 win over Young Boys in the UEFA Champions League and played around 15 minutes.

A few days later, the Netherlands international featured for close to ten minutes in the Catalans’ La Liga game against Deportivo Alaves, with manager Hansi Flick easing him back into action.

Ronald Koeman speaks out on De Jong’s fitness

De Jong’s return to action did not translate to a call-up to the Netherlands national team, considering that he only made his comeback and still needs time to get his rhythm back.

And, the Dutch national team manager, Ronald Koeman, gave an update on his star midfielder’s condition during a press conference earlier this week.

The former Barça head coach, who had been very critical of the way the club handled De Jong’s injury in the past, insisted that the midfielder is still a long way away from being at 100% fitness.

Koeman further added that De Jong found it ‘tense and tough’ to make his comeback after five months out and that he still needs to work on gaining his rhythm.

“I spoke to Frenkie on the phone. He is still a long way off at this stage too. He played once for 15 minutes and he already found that very tense and tough,” said Koeman, as quoted by Voetbal Nieuws.

“Last weekend [he played] something like ten minutes. He has to play first and get rhythm and be 100 per cent fit.”

De Jong himself has gone on record stating that he had some concerns about getting back on the pitch and being on the receiving end of tackles, having suffered three back-to-back ankle injuries.

So, it is only natural for him to be eased back into the thick of things gradually. The Dutchman will accumulate more minutes in the weeks to come, with Barcelona playing some crucial fixtures against the likes of Sevilla, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid right after the break.