Why Frenkie De Jong has been benched for Barcelona vs Girona | OneFootball

An explanation for the absence of Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona’s latest starting XI has on Sunday evening been provided.

Barcelona are of course set to return to action in short order.

Fresh off making short work of Osasuna in their post-international break return in midweek, the Blaugrana have welcomed city rivals Girona to Montjuïc, for a Catalan Derby clash.

Amid such a crucial stretch of the campaign for his side, Hansi Flick has unsurprisingly opted for several changes to his line-up for the fixture.

One such player to have been afforded a rest from the off on Sunday comes in the form of Frenkie de Jong, replaced by Eric García at the base of Barca’s midfield.

And as alluded to above, in the time since, an explanation for as much has been forthcoming.

As per a report from Blaugrana insider Javier Miguel of Diario AS:

‘Frenkie is benched to prevent an overload in his adductor muscle.’

Conor Laird – GSFN