Frenkie de Jong tears ligament at the World Cup — and now Barcelona and the Netherlands are sweating
De Jong confirmed a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee suffered at the World Cup. Barcelona announces the blow to their squad; the Dutchman gives his own account.
The World Cup has left Frenkie de Jong with a hefty bill to pay. The Dutch midfielder suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee while representing the Netherlands at the tournament — and the injury is already making itself felt off the pitch.
Barcelona confirmed the problem and will head into the season with a significant absentee in their squad. But De Jong did not stay silent: after the club's official statement, the player decided to give his own version of events, according to Trivela.
The absence stings particularly because the Netherlands arrived at the World Cup with genuine ambitions. Golmetria's model gives the Dutch side an 86.5% chance of advancing from the group stage and nearly 30% of reaching the quarter-finals — figures that look more fragile without one of their key playmakers.
In the betting markets, the Netherlands carry an implied probability of around 5% to win the title, according to bookmaker data — a sign that confidence in the Dutch was already measured even before this news broke.
The question that lingers now: how far can the Netherlands go without De Jong on the pitch?