Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong suffers leg injury

Barcelona, June 21 (IANS) Spanish giants FC Barcelona confirmed on Sunday that midfielder Frenkie de Jong has sustained a leg injury that will keep him out for the team’s next few fixtures.

Barcelona failed to set a return date for their talented playmaker who joined the Camp Nou side in the summer transfer window from Ajax in a reported 65 million pound deal.

“The clinical follow-up on Frenkie De Jong has uncovered an injury in the soleus of his right leg. The evolution of the injury will condition the player’s availability,” Barcelona said in a statement uploaded on their Twitter handle.

De Jong featured for Barcelona in their first match of the revamped calendar against Mallorca which ended in a 4-0 win for the Catalan giants. He, however, missed the subsequent matches against Leganes (2-0 win) and Sevilla (0-0 draw) respectively.

“Barca’s No.21 is in his first season as a player at FC Barcelona, and has played a total of 38 games, 27 of them in the league,” the statement read further.

“Thus far, the Dutchman has only missed three matches in the domestic competition, the last one coming this past Friday against Sevilla.”

Barcelona will next take on Athletic Club on Wednesday and will look for a win to bounce back from that dull draw against Sevilla.

They currently remain top of LaLiga with 65 points, however, Real Madrid are breathing down their neck with 62 points and they also have a game in hand. Atletico Madrid (52) and Sevilla (52) complete the top-four presently in Spanish top-flight.

–IANS

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