A leading member of the midfield ranks at La Liga giants Barcelona is inching ever closer to an imminent return to the pitch.
That’s according to Relevo, who point towards Frenkie de Jong as the player in question.
Dutchman De Jong is for his part of course sidelined at present, owing to an ankle injury picked up all the way back in April.
The initial expectation was that the 27-year-old would be back fully fit and firing for the start of the season, to be at the disposal of new head coach Hansi Flick.
This, however, has proven to be far from the case.
Instead, De Jong remains on the treatment table, giving rise to widespread concern when it comes to his long-term fitness prospects.
Safe to say, then, that those of a Barcelona persuasion will no doubt be delighted to hear that their side’s engine room standout is in fact primed for an imminent step forward in his recovery.
As per a report from Relevo, the expectation is that De Jong will link back up with his Blaugrana teammates in group training next week.
From here, the hope would be for the former Ajax man to quickly put himself in a position to contribute on matchdays, with Hansi Flick eager to have FdJ fit and firing as soon as possible, following the injuries to both Marc Bernal, and Fermín López.
Conor Laird | GSFN
