Why Frenkie de Jong has been left out of Barcelona’s squad to face Atlético | OneFootball

An explanation for the surprising last-minute absence of Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona’s squad to face Atlético Madrid has been provided.

Barcelona are of course primed to return to action in short order.

In their final fixture heading into the international break, the Blaugrana have made the trip to Spain’s capital, for a crunch La Liga showdown with Atlético Madrid.

A short time ago, the visitors’ starting XI for the clash, in turn, was unveiled online.

And it featured one altogether noteworthy change, with Marc Casadó stepping in for the aforementioned Frenkie de Jong in the middle of the park.

The latter, initially, was named on the bench, with the assumption having therefore been that Hansi Flick had simply opted for extra defensive solidity in midfield at the Metropolitano.

Speaking to the media ahead of kick-off, however, Barcelona’s headmaster revealed that, in fact, De Jong has been completely ruled out for the evening owing to a fitness issue:

“Frenkie de Jong is out due to discomfort – he was supposed to start, but unfortunately he couldn’t.”

Conor Laird – GSFN