Barcelona midfielder De Jong has a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee and is expected to be out for several months. The club does not plan to sign new players and hopes that youth academy midfielder Bernal will step up.

Barcelona officially confirmed De Jong's injury via an announcement: "Tests performed on first-team player De Jong show that he has a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee. The club has decided to let the player continue with treatment and medical observation, and an assessment will be made in the coming weeks based on his recovery."

De Jong himself later issued a statement, saying that the injury occurred during the World Cup. "The national team doctors told me it was only a minor injury and that continuing to play would not make it worse. The only problem was playing with pain, but I have always done that in my career whenever I could help the team." However, his injury eventually proved to be much more complex than initially expected.

Cadena SER reporter Nil Sola revealed De Jong's latest situation on the "El Larguero" program: "Currently, the club has opted for conservative treatment. If the situation does not improve after a month, Barcelona does not rule out him undergoing surgery. As far as we know, if the conservative treatment goes smoothly, he will also be out for three to four months. De Jong himself prefers not to have surgery, but if the recovery is not ideal, he will eventually have to go to the operating room."

Reporter Marcos López said on the program: "De Jong's absence is a huge and structural loss due to injury. Now is the time for Bernal to step up. He performed very well at the end of last season and made a very positive impression."

After De Jong's injury, available midfielders for Barcelona include Gavi, Pedri, Fermín, M. Casado, Olmo, and Bernal. However, Gavi, Pedri, and Olmo will not return until mid-August, as they have just won the World Cup and are currently on vacation. Fermín has resumed ball training; he previously fractured his fifth metatarsal in his right foot and underwent surgery, thus missing the World Cup.

Therefore, during preseason preparation, Bernal and Casado seem to be the only two available midfielders for Flick, and the German coach needs to find a Plan B to fill the midfield void.

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