Former Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has not been shy in criticising his old club regarding their treatment of Frenkie de Jong‘s ankle injuries over the past year, but after the 27-year-old joined the Dutch national team, made it clear he is some way off his best yet. De Jong exited Barcelona’s second La Liga defeat at half-time on Sunday.

On Monday further tests established that he merely had a bruised shin, and not another muscle injury, as had been feared. He then traveled to Amsterdam, where Koeman made it clear that de Jong is still a long way off his best.

“He will be able to play on Saturday although he will have to train individually some days due to the blow he received. He had been out for a long time and has yet to play a full game. He is not yet in his best moment although for us it was important that he returned to the group.”

Wishing Jules Koundé a very happy 26th birthday! @jkeey4 pic.twitter.com/q0LuDJCSIS

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) November 12, 2024

“I immediately contacted Barca because I feared it was something about the ankle, but they made it clear that it was not like that. It was the shin, he received a painful blow but it was not a big problem so he has traveled to help us,” he told Sport.

Barcelona will be keen to get de Jong back to full fitness sooner rather than later, as a busy period before Christmas approaches. The Catalan giants are tasked with maintaining their six-point lead over Real Madrid until that point, and will be hoping to use Gavi and de Jong as alternatives to Pedri and Marc Casado.