The Netherlands national team has been dealt a significant blow ahead of the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament, scheduled to begin on Friday, June 14.
FC Barcelona star Frenkie De Jong, widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world, will be unable to represent the Dutch team due to a persistent ankle injury.
The 27-year-old is still recovering from the right ankle injury that sidelined him for most of Barcelona's final months of the season.
"He won't be fit enough to play at this level for the next three weeks. There's no point keeping him with us," Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman said.
De Jong expressed his willingness to take a risk to join the Dutch national team for the European Championship, but his main focus is on preventing his ankle injury from becoming chronic.
Frenkie De Jong's longstanding ankle injury
De Jong injured his right ankle during an away La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao in early March.
The Dutchman returned in mid-April in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals against PSG before reinjuring the same ankle in his third game back during their El Clásico league matchup against Real Madrid on April 21.
"We've been doing a lot of [work] in the past few weeks, but my ankle needs more time unfortunately," the midfielder said in an Instagram post in Dutch.
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