Xavi Hernandez reveals when Frenkie de Jong could return to Barcelona training | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are not going to be in action for the next few weeks as the September international break has temporarily put a stop to club football across Europe. However, Blaugrana fans will still have a lot of action to follow during this break.

Among the national teams that are going to be in action in this break which will be of particular interest to Barcelona fans will also be the Netherlands. The Dutch national team has historically been closely associated with the Catalan club, and both these sides have shared a lot of big names in their history, including the likes of Johan Cruyff, Ronald Koeman, Phillip Cocu, and Patrick Kluivert.

Among their current players, Barcelona have Frenkie de Jong, who is a regular part of the Dutch national team, even though he was not called up for this break because of an injury he suffered during the World Cup. In addition to him, there is now another individual that links the Catalan club with the Orange team, i.e., the new Dutch national team coach Xavi Hernandez.

The former Blaugrana midfielder and head coach debuted with his new team in the UEFA Nations League match against Germany. As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the Spaniard appeared in a press conference ahead of this game and, among other things, provided an update on Frenkie’s condition. The coach revealed that the midfielder can return to group training after this international break:

“I spoke to him; we have a very good relationship. He is happy with how his recovery is progressing and has a very good feeling about it. We’ll see, we’ll see. I think the key moment will be after this international break, precisely to see whether he can rejoin the group and get good feelings about returning to playing at 100 per cent.”

For now, Hansi Flick has not missed Frenkie de Jong too much this season, as he has Rodri, Pedri, and Marc Bernal all as natural midfielders who can play in the pivot position, while defenders like Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen, who is also currently out with an injury, can also play in this position.

However, as the season advances and players start accumulating fatigue, the Barcelona coach would certainly want to have another player for this position available, and hopefully, the Dutchman will be able to get back to his best level before that time comes.