Frenkie de Jong confirms knee injury suffered at the World Cup — and Barcelona are already feeling his absence
The Dutch midfielder ruptured a ligament in his right knee during the World Cup. Barcelona confirm the injury and De Jong gives his own account of what happened.
It wasn't only Barcelona who lost Frenkie de Jong at the start of the season. The Netherlands will also find out what it's like to compete at a World Cup without one of their best players at full fitness.
The Catalan club confirmed that the midfielder suffered a rupture of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee while representing the Dutch national team at the World Cup. Following Barça's official statement, De Jong went public with his own account of the injury — a gesture that speaks to just how much noise the situation has generated.
For the Netherlands, the news is a heavy blow. Golmetria's model puts Holland at around a 2% chance of lifting the trophy — a figure that already reflects a difficult path, and De Jong's absence makes it no easier.
In the market, the odds point to an implied probability of approximately 5% for a Dutch title — slightly above what the model calculates, a small divergence but one worth keeping an eye on.
The World Cup gets under way with Group F full of promise, but the Netherlands will have to answer an uncomfortable question: who fills De Jong's role when the tournament really starts to matter?