Barcelona midfielder ruled out of Atletico Madrid game due to ‘discomfort’ | OneFootball

Barcelona have announced their starting eleven which will take on Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano.

The biggest takeaway from the starting eleven was the absence of Frenkie de Jong, who couldn’t even feature in the squad, let alone the starting eleven.

In the wake of de Jong’s absence from the Barcelona setup, Hansi Flick has issued a clarification.

De Jong out due to discomfort

Flick has confirmed that the Dutchman has been ruled out of the Atletico Madrid game due to discomfort.

“Frenkie de Jong is out due to discomfort – he was supposed to start, but unfortunately he couldn’t,” he said (h/t Fabrizio Romano).

Will de Jong’s absence serve as a big blow for Barcelona? (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Flick’s statement suggests the German was planning to start with de Jong, but his decision to start Marc Casado in midfield was only made out of necessity.

It is too early to figure out whether or not de Jong simply has minor discomfort or has picked up a fresh injury.

In any case, this is good news for Barcelona considering the fact that the Dutchman has been one of the club’s top performers since the turn of the year.

Barcelona are likely to issue a further update on de Jong’s fitness after the game or perhaps even early tomorrow. For now, the club will focus on the task at hand – beating Atletico Madrid and consolidating their position as favourite to win the title this season.