Frenkie de Jong not joining the Netherlands at the European Championships due to injury

FC Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has not recovered from his ankle injury in time for the European Championships. De Jong returned to the training pitch this week and was seemingly being readied for the first match of the European Championships against Poland next Sunday, but it now turns out that he will miss the whole tournament, the Dutch Football Association KNVB announced.

De Jong was injured in April in the match against Real Madrid. This is a massive blow for manager Ronald Koeman, who is a huge fan of the midfielder and was willing to take him to the tournament even if he missed the first two matches.

It was set to be De Jong’s third tournament after the European Championships in 2021 and the World Cup in 2022.

Koeman has not yet decided whether to take a substitute midfielder to replace De Jong. His midfield troubles could have been exasperated further on Monday as Teun Koopmeiners dropped out of the friendly against Iceland with a groin injury.