Frenkie de Jong will not travel with FC Barcelona to training camp, it was reported ASHAccording to the Spanish sports newspaper, Barcelona has concluded that the injury to his right ankle is still so serious that there is no point in traveling to the United States with the selection.

De Jong, together with trainer Hansi Flink and the medical staff, have come to the conclusion that the condition of his ankle is not yet good enough to travel to the training camp in the United States. Flick and the medical staff are of the opinion that it is better for the midfielder to continue his rehabilitation from his injury in Barcelona.

De Jong struggled with ankle complaints several times last season. Shortly after his return, things went wrong again on 21 April in a duel with Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde. De Jong missed the remainder of the season in LaLiga, but there was still hope for his participation in the European Championship.

De Jong was included in the provisional EC selection and was given special status by national coach Ronald Koeman. De Jong would have been part of the final EC selection if there were indications that he would be able to play later in the tournament, but it soon became clear that this was not a feasible option.

The expectation was that De Jong would have been able to start the new season quite easily, but in the meantime there was hardly any serious progress. This was evident from Koeman's words. “He is worried. He has a serious injury and we have to wait and see how everything goes,” the national coach said last week at a golf tournament.

Normally, a sprained ankle requires a rehabilitation period of six to eight weeks, but that period has long since passed. It is currently even uncertain whether De Jong will be there on August 17, when Barcelona opens the new LaLiga season against Valencia.

Pedri, Gavi, Ronald Araújo and Ansu Fati will also not travel to the United States. The foursome, like De Jong, are still injured.

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