Barcelona star will take no risks after fresh injury blow with World Cup a priority – report | OneFootball

Earlier this week, FC Barcelona confirmed that key midfielder Frenkie de Jong had suffered a hamstring injury that will rule him out for 5-6 weeks.

The Netherlands international sustained the injury during a training session leading up to Barça’s La Liga encounter against Villarreal and will now be out for over a month.

It means that De Jong will miss several important matches for the Blaugrana, including the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg vs Atletico Madrid and the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 against Newcastle United.

De Jong will take no risks

Now, according to reports from The Touchline, De Jong does not wish to take even 1% risk with his recovery and rush things to return to action.

The trauma of missing the 2024 European Championship remains fresh in the Dutchman’s mind, and his absolute priority is to reach the 2026 FIFA World Cup at full fitness.

De Jong set to be out for more than a month. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

As such, he has refused to shorten recovery timelines and has made it clear to those around him that he will not take “even 1% risk.” He will not wear the Barcelona shirt again until he feels 100% recovered.

This decision to adopt maximum caution is certain to have the backing of Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman.

The former Barcelona coach was previously highly critical of how the club handled De Jong’s fitness situation. Just before Euro 2024, Koeman publicly accused the Catalans of taking too many risks with the player.

For Koeman, De Jong is the non-negotiable engine of his tactical setup. The coach needs his star to regain full fitness in order to lead the Oranje at the 2026 World Cup.

However, for Barcelona, this poses an immediate challenge: losing their midfield metronome at the most crucial moment of the season.