Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay are still not fit enough to play at Barcelona. Trainer Xavi has therefore not included the duo in his selection for the Champions League clash with Internazionale next Tuesday. It is unclear when De Jong and Depay are expected back at the Catalans. There is also plenty to do in defense for Xavi, as Jules Koundé, Ronald Araújo and Héctor Bellerín are all missing.
De Jong and Depay both did not come out of the Nations League match between the the Dutch and Poland (0-2 win) unscathed. The former had to be replaced at half time, while Depay had to end the exercise after 52 minutes. As a result, the pair could not play in the 1-0 win against Belgium. The medical department of Barcelona reported on return that De Jong had strained his hamstring, while Depay suffered an injury to ‘the two-headed thigh muscle’.
The squad for #InterBarça! pic.twitter.com/qWAUQrisfN
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 3, 2022
As a result, the game against Real Mallorca (0-1 win) already passed the Dutch. Barcelona took the lead in LaLiga. Things are going a little less smoothly in the Champions League for the time being. Although the Catalans put Viktoria Plzen aside 5-1 in the first group match, they lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich in the following game. Then Xavi still had Araújo and Koundé, who were replaced on Sunday against Mallorca by Gerard Pique and Alejandro Balde.
The World Cup does not seem to be in danger for De Jong and Depay. The playmaker from Arkel will probably recover faster from his injury, but the final tournament in Qatar must also be feasible for his companion. National coach Louis van Gaal has already stated that he will only include fit players in his selection. The player group may consist of 26 players and normally the two the Dutch clients from Barcelona will be part of that. They have both been part of the selection for years.
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