Frenkie de Jong will be sidelined for the remainder of Barca’s season due to another ankle injury sustained during Sunday’s 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid, a source confirmed to ESPN.
The 26-year-old midfielder was substituted just before halftime following a challenge with Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde.
De Jong’s absence means he will miss Barcelona’s final six games of the season.
However, sources indicated to ESPN that he is expected to recover in time for the European Championship in Germany this summer.
The Netherlands, with De Jong in their squad, will commence their tournament campaign against Poland on June 16, followed by matches against France and Austria in the group stage.
This marks the third instance this season that De Jong has encountered an ankle injury.
He missed 10 games between September and November after spraining his ankle against Celta Vigo and another four matches in March with a similar problem.
“The injuries have been a bit unlucky,” De Jong told ESPN before the Clásico on Friday.
“The first one, someone fell on my ankle, which left me with a syndesmosis thing, which is a tough injury and then I had an injury on the same ankle again [in March], which was a tough blow.”
v
Barcelona’s defeat over the weekend widened the gap between them and La Liga leaders Madrid to 11 points, with only 11 games left in the season.
This loss came after their elimination from the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain earlier in the week.
Having already been ousted from the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey, Barcelona’s chances of securing any silverware this season seem slim.
They are poised to surrender the La Liga title they claimed last year to Madrid.
However, Barcelona’s focus now shifts to securing a second-place finish to ensure their participation in next season’s Super Cup. They currently hold a slender lead over Girona, who are just two points behind in third place.
Next on the agenda for Barcelona is a clash against Valencia on April 29, followed by fixtures against Girona, Real Sociedad, Almería, Rayo Vallecano, and Sevilla to close out the campaign.