25 apr 2024 om 15:15 Update: 8 min. geleden
Edwin Goedhart, medical affairs manager of the KNVB, expects that Frenkie de Jong will recover in time for the European Championship. The 26-year-old FC Barcelona midfielder suffered a sprained ankle in El Clásico against Real Madrid last weekend.
“For the time being, there is no reason to assume that De Jong will not make it,” Goedhart said on Thursday at a media meeting of the KNVB in Zeist. “What do I base that on? On the injury.”
Goedhart did not want to elaborate on the injury. FC Barcelona reported on Monday that it was a sprained ankle, but did not provide any information about the recovery time.
According to Spanish media, De Jong will need about five weeks to recover. That would mean that the 54-time international’s season at Barcelona is over. The European Championship in Germany starts on June 14 and the Dutch team’s first match is on June 16 in Hamburg against Poland.
Frenkie de Jong left the field on a stretcher to loud applause
‘Sounds in the corridors that selections are getting bigger’
National coach Ronald Koeman must announce his final selection for the European Championship by June 7.
According to UEFA guidelines, it must consist of 23 players, but there is a good chance that this will be changed to 26 players. That is also the wish of Koeman, who has seen many players drop out injured during international matches in recent months.
“It is not yet certain, but we hear rumors in the corridors that the expansion to European Championship selections of 26 players will be achieved,” said Nigel de Jong, director of top football at the KNVB, on Thursday. “We are happy with that.”
