Frenkie de Jong looks set to miss Barcelona’s LaLiga clash with Valencia on Sunday after suffering a muscle injury on international duty with The Netherlands.
De Jong did not feature in the Oranje’s 3-2 World Cup qualifying win over Lithuania on Sunday after limping off late in their 1-1 draw with Poland last Thursday.
And on Monday Barcelona announced that the midfielder had suffered a “slight injury to the external obturator muscle in his right leg”.
The club did not put a timescale on his recovery, but the chances of him featuring for Barca’s first home game of the season appear significantly decreased. A venue for the game has still yet to be confirmed amid delays to the completion of the redevelopment of Camp Nou, with Barca facing the possibility of playing in their B team’s stadium without fans.
Barca begin their Champions League campaign with an away game against Newcastle United at St James’ Park a week on Thursday.
De Jong has featured in two of Barcelona’s three league games so far this season as they aim to successfully defend their title. He played the full 90 minutes in the opening win over Mallorca and their draw with Rayo Vallecano before the international break. The former Ajax star was not involved against Levante following the birth of his second child.
