Koeman talks De Jong injury, Pedri-Messi connection at Barcelona: ‘Messi only passed the ball to him’ | OneFootball

Speaking in an interview with ESPN (h/t SPORT), Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman has provided an update on the injury of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

The Dutch superstar suffered an injury in late February during a training session and is set to be out for more than a month, which has come as a blow to the Blaugrana.

The Catalan giants issued a potential recovery timeline of five to six weeks for the midfielder.

Koeman on De Jong’s injury

Now, discussing the injury to his compatriot, Koeman has confirmed that De Jong will be out for six weeks and will not be making an early return.

“Frenkie de Jong will be out for approximately six weeks. Sometimes I think it might be good for someone to be out for six weeks so that they get less tired,” said Koeman.

“Even so, we have to wait for him to regain his fitness once he returns,” he added.

De Jong is out injured. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

It must be noted that Koeman has previously been critical of Barcelona for rushing De Jong back from injury prematurely and is hoping that there will be no recurrence of a similar situation.

Koeman on Messi and Pedri

Koeman also spoke about his experience with Pedri and explained that he was amazed during his first training sessions at Barcelona, while also giving an insight into the midfielder’s connection with Lionel Messi.

“I was the first Barcelona coach to meet Pedri. I didn’t know who he was. Barcelona signed him from Las Palmas and then wanted to loan him out. That was the plan,” said Koeman.

“But after two days of training, I saw an absolutely incredible footballer, but above all, I saw Lionel Messi constantly trying to connect with him. Messi only passed the ball to Pedri.”

“And believe me, if Messi doesn’t value you, he won’t pass you the ball in training, he’ll just ignore you. I saw their connection grow. For me, that was the definitive confirmation that I had made the right decision in keeping Pedri at Barcelona,” he said.