The Netherlands international has spent a long time on the sidelines since he joined Barcelona from Ajax in 2019
Barcelona will be without Frenkie de Jong for up to six months after the midfielder suffered another serious injury that extends a run of fitness problems he has suffered for much of his time at the club.
A statement from Barcelona confirmed the Netherlands international has torn the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, an injury expected to keep him out for between five and six months.
It is a significant blow for Hansi Flick and the squad before the start of the 2026-27 season, because De Jong is such a highly valued player alongside Pedri in the current midfield setup.
The broader worry for the club and supporters is that it is yet another injury situation for De Jong, and there have been so many of those since he joined Barcelona from Ajax in 2019.
The 29-year-old switched to Camp Nou at the time as one of Europe’s most highly rated young midfielders, but he has far from realised that potential having struggled to put together long periods of football on the pitch without injury.
He has spent more than 400 days unavailable through fitness issues during his seven years at the club, and the latest setback means he is now to set to add another 150 days to that total.
By the time he returns, De Jong will have spent around 22% of his time at Barcelona injured, a record equivalent to missing around one-third of the club’s competitive football calendar. Put differently, he has missed up to 3 of every 10 games Barcelona have played in that period.
All sympathy of course to the player, who has certainly had a difficult time.
When has De Jong been on or off for Barcelona?
The midfielder’s injury record began to build in 2020 when a calf problem ruled him out of the closing weeks of the season. More muscle injuries followed over the next two campaigns and a knee injury in March 2023 also kept him out of several important league and cup matches.
The most difficult spell came during the 2023-24 season, when repeated injuries to his right ankle derailed his campaign. A sprain against Celta Vigo sidelined him for more than two months before further damage to the same ankle against Athletic Club delayed his return.
A third sprain suffered during the clásico in April 2024 proved the most severe. The injury ruled him out for more than five months and also ended his hopes of representing the Netherlands at Euro 2024. Barcelona and the player considered surgery but this was ultimately dropped.
De Jong eventually returned to full fitness and regained his place under Flick, becoming an important figure in midfield once again.
However, he missed plenty of time during the 2025-26 season because of separate muscle and hamstring injuries before this latest setback.
