De Jong already has a roadmap: the dates the Barça are using for his return
Frenkie de Jong enters a decisive stage of his recovery, although his return to group training will not mean he is immediately ready to compete. The plan at FC Barcelona is to bring the Dutchman back without rushing the timeline, especially after an injury that has kept him sidelined since mid-June.
FC Barcelona
The midfielder, 29, continues with the conservative treatment he has chosen to recover from the rupture of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee suffered during the World Cup. The expectation is that on October 5 he will start training alongside the players who have not reported for their national teams.
That first group will be made up of Gabriel Jesus, Gerard Martín, Gavi, Balde, Szczesny and Brian Fariñas. The internationals will not return until the 8th, a date on which De Jong could complete his first session with practically the entire squad.
In any case, his reintroduction will be gradual. Hansi Flick believes the Dutchman will still need between two and three weeks of preparation before he is in a position to make his comeback, as long as no new discomfort or a relapse appears during that process.
The schedule also does not make things easy for his return to form. Barely two days after the internationals come back, Barça will host Getafe in La Liga. The next fixture will be against Galatasaray, with a trip to Turkey on Monday 12 and a match on Wednesday 13. Those two games arrive far too soon for the midfielder.
The idea is for De Jong to be able to stay in Barcelona during those days to keep working. After the team returns from Istanbul, he would have the chance to train again with his teammates on Thursday 14, but the run of matches once again makes it difficult to maintain continuity in training.
On October 17, Betis are due to visit Seville and, two days later, Flick's side will travel to Paris to face PSG on the 20th. After that comes another of the big calendar dates: the first Clasico against Real Madrid, scheduled for Sunday 25 October at 9.00 pm in Barcelona.
Alavés appears as a more favorable date
De Jong1.000.000€+10.000€-
MDWithin the coaching staff, it is seen as complicated for De Jong to get minutes before the Clasico. Flick could include him in a squad list beforehand, although his participation is not considered that clear unless the needs of the squad force the Dutchman to be called upon.
Another, more favorable opportunity comes on November 1 against Alavés. Between the match against Real Madrid and the visit from the Vitoria side, there will be a week without games, which would allow De Jong to string together training sessions with the group without trips or recovery sessions in between.
The player injured himself on June 16 during the World Cup. When he completes his return to the group, he will have to step up his work especially in terms of strength, in order to regain the consistency needed in the duels before returning to competition.
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