Barcelona boosted as key midfielder is now set to return early from international duty | OneFootball

After spending several months on the sidelines due to an ankle injury, the FC Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong recovered last month and was able to get on the pitch for his club side for some matches before leaving to join the Dutch national team.

After a 433-day hiatus, the midfielder made his return by starting against Hungary, contributing to a dominant 4-0 victory for his team. With this win, the Netherlands secured second place in their group and confirmed their spot in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Nations League.

However, even with a win in their upcoming match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Oranje will not be able to claim the top spot in the group, which has already been secured by Germany.

Thus, the match between The Netherlands and Bosnia and Herzegovina will not have too high stakes for the Dutch national team. Because of this, Mundo Deportivo reports that Ronald Koeman has already released Frenkie de Jong, ahead of this game.

This will certainly be good news for Hansi Flick, as the German tactician will not have to worry about any physical setbacks for the Dutchman in a game that will not have any implications for his team’s position on the group table.

Although he started against Hungary, the Barcelona midfielder had himself confessed that he was not yet back at his best and he will still have to work to regain his best sensations.

In such a context, the former Ajax and Real Madrid midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart had also suggested that Frenkie de Jong should be allowed to leave the Dutch national team despite his good performance against Hungary.

Now, under Flick, Frenkie will continue on his gradual return to full fitness in the upcoming weeks and months, and hopefully get back to 100% ahead of the second half of the season.