Barca hope to have key player back for El Clasico despite tests ruling him out

With Pedri already out injured, Barcelona suffered another blow during Saturday’s match against Celta Vigo as Frenkie de Jong limped off in the first half with an ankle complaint.

Despite having played on for 17 minutes after the original injury occurred, initial tests ruled de Jong out for five to seven weeks, meaning that he will miss several important matches for the Catalans.

One of those would be El Clasico, which is scheduled for the 28th of October. That game comes in five weeks’ time, so de Jong would be absent unless he recovers quicker than expected. As per MD, Barcelona do not rule out having the Dutchman available against Real Madrid.

However, they will only include him if he has fully recovered from the injury. Like with Ronald Araujo and Pedri, Barcelona won’t take any risks with de Jong’s recovery, as they hope to avoid any possible aggravation of the issue.

The next few weeks will be crucial to determining whether de Jong is available for El Clasico. Barcelona will do everything they can to have him at their disposal as they are undoubtedly a better side with him in the team, but no unnecessary risks will be taken.