2024 has been a tough year for Frenkie de Jong. He injured his ankle during El Clasico in April, and while his absence was only supposed to be 5-6 weeks, he ended up being out of action for over five months.
De Jong’s ankle proved to be very problematic for Barcelona, and the man himself has revealed that the issues won’t go away easily. Speaking to Voetbal International (via Sport), he opened up on how he is managing things.
“I spend a lot of time on my ankle. Now, I have to take much more care of it. Before I didn’t even think about my ankle before matches, but now I get treated before training and matches. I have to put ice on it, I have to make extra preparations to train…. I think this will continue to be the case for a while, I will have to pay attention to that ankle for a longer period of time.”
De Jong may not be at Barcelona for too much longer, as the expectation is that he will be sold if he does not sign a new contract before the end of the season (his current deal ends in 2026). If he does remain, club officials will hope that his ankle gradually gets back to 100%.