Barcelona Optimistic About Recovering Frenkie de Jong In Time For Real Madrid Clash
Barcelona have been rocked by a few injury problems over the past couple of weeks, with Frenkie de Jong one of the players getting injured.
The Netherlands midfielder was supposed to travel with the national team for their UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifiers, but had to withdraw from the squad due to a hamstring injury.
It was reported that De Jong could be sidelined for around two weeks’ time which cast clouds of uncertainty over his availability for the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Real Madrid on April 5.
Some reports even suggested that the in-form Barcelona midfielder was unlikely to recover in time for the fifth El Clasico of the 2022/23 season.
However, according to the latest reports from Javi Miguel of AS, Barcelona are growing optimistic about recovering De Jong in time for Real Madrid’s visit to Spotify Camp Nou next weekend.
The club doctors assure that the former AFC Ajax midfielder has amazing recovery capacity and his current recovery is going very smoothly.
“If after the tests, the hopes were 10% for him to play against Real Madrid, now we are at 25%,” club sources have informed Javi Miguel.
While the margins are still slim, the match against the Merengues is still a week away and that could be enough time for De Jong to recover completely.
It is expected that the Dutchman could return to team training sessions next Monday or Tuesday, following which a call on involvement against Real Madrid will be made, based on his feelings.
If the sensations are positive, De Jong would be included in the squad, if not, he will remain out along with Pedri, Ousmane Dembele, and Andreas Christensen.
Meanwhile, Ronald Araujo is expected to be fully fit and ready for the Clasico with the Uruguayan international likely to be rested against Elche to protect him for the big game against the arch-rivals.
