Barcelona still do not have a concrete return date for €70m midfielder | OneFootball

The precarious nature of the fitness of several Barcelona players continues to perplex the club. Constant injuries have repeatedly stalled the club’s progress and they continue to struggle with finding the right alternatives. Unfortunately, these woes for Barcelona have continued to grow rather than simmer down this season.

More players continue to be sidelined and added to the lengthy injury list that the club is already working with, and it only leads to further issues on the field. For Hansi Flick, in his very first season at Barcelona, these conditions are proving to be far from ideal for his ideas to take shape.

Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez are the latest names to be sidelined, and their absence is truly being felt. In the recent loss to Monaco, it was clear as day that the Catalan giants were struggling to deal with the lack of depth in their midfield currently.

However, at least with them and the other players currently sidelined, Barça have a plan in mind that is more or less absolute in terms of their respective returns and future with the club. With €70 million-rated Frenkie de Jong, however, things are not even relatively sorted out in the long-term.

According to AS, there is currently no concrete return date in mind for the player and the recovery process is proving to be far less telling than the club had previously hoped. At the moment, there are no guarantees as to when the Dutch midfielder could end up making his proper return.

Previously, there were hopes that the game against Getafe could be a potential date to see De Jong return for Barcelona. However, everything will be dictated by his physical progress and it seems that as of today that progress is not fully there and the player continues to feel like he is not at a 100% and the club simply cannot even fathom taking a risk before he reaches that point.

Unfortunately, his absence is proving to be a major issue for Barcelona both on and off the field. Due to their lack of midfield options, De Jong’s presence could have really helped the team out in these troubling times but since his recovery continues to be delayed, his assistance can not be counted on.

Another major issue with his injury is the fact that many reports state that he is, by far, the club’s highest earner right now. While being the highest earner, he remains on the sideline so he basically offers no utility or help to Barcelona in any way, shape, or form right now.

Furthermore, due to his reluctance to even negotiate a renewal that the club is proposing, there is a deeper hole that is being dug. Now, at Barcelona, they reportedly believe that his intention is to run down his contract and make his way out of the club for free at the end of it.

Even the fans are not exactly on the player’s side and continue to show their distaste of his antics, among which his reluctance of undergoing a surgical intervention can also be added despite the insistence of advice of the club’s doctors. As time continues to go by, De Jong’s stay at Barcelona could end up getting pretty ugly at the rate things are going.