Frenkie de Jong was substituted in the first half of the match against Real Sociedad due to discomfort in his leg. The midfielder has been affected by negative emotions due to injury throughout the time.
In fact, at the Anoeta Stadium, De Jong was a bit hesitant in the ball-fighting phase. The same thing happened in the match against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.
Since his injury in El Clasico at the end of last season, De Jong has only started one match. Since the beginning of this season, the Dutch midfielder has not played a full 90 minutes for Barca.
De Jong is emotionally affected by the fear of getting injured again, so Barcelona welcomes De Jong playing during the FIFA Days in November. The Blaugrana believe that the upcoming minutes with the Netherlands will help De Jong gain confidence and improve his emotions.
Overall, Barcelona see De Jong playing for the Netherlands as a positive thing at the moment. The 27-year-old midfielder has been an important player for the national team, making his debut in 2018 and playing a total of 54 times.
Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman is a former Barcelona legend and has also coached the team, so they see De Jong playing under Koeman as a positive, despite fitness concerns.
"I immediately contacted Barcelona because I was afraid De Jong had some problem with his ankle, but they made it clear that it was not like that. It was not a big problem so he could train with us," Koeman said in a press conference.
In fact, Koeman had intended to play De Jong against Hungary: "I have been in contact with De Jong. De Jong's ankle is fine. We will assess the situation and determine whether De Jong can play next Saturday.
If De Jong is fit, I will let him start. I have also worked with Barcelona to agree on the playing minutes. He has also understood my intention and now the two sides will have private discussions."
More than ever, Barcelona need De Jong to overcome the pain and discomfort of more than five months on the sidelines. The 25-year-old midfielder is one of the highest-paid players in the squad and Barca want De Jong to be 100% fit as soon as possible.
Due to his constant injuries, the interest of other teams in De Jong has cooled down significantly. Therefore, he must overcome the psychological burden and regain his best version, in the short term, to be a regular starter at Barcelona.
