According to Diario AS, two months after Frenkie de Jong suffered a right knee injury, his recovery has shown no significant progress. FC Barcelona believes surgery is the best option, but de Jong is determined to exhaust conservative treatment first. Should he ultimately require surgery, he may not return to the pitch until April 2024.

Frenkie de Jong has navigated an unpredictable path since his World Cup campaign ended due to injury on June 30. His handling of the injury has sparked considerable controversy. Most significantly, he insisted on playing the final three World Cup matches despite right knee pain. As the tournament progressed, the pain worsened, and he was visibly hampered in the match against Morocco.

De Jong explained that the initial medical diagnosis was inaccurate, underestimating the severity of his knee pain. After the Netherlands' elimination by Morocco, de Jong rested for several weeks and returned to Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper on July 13. His concerns were evident by then, as the pain persisted and swelling was pronounced.

Subsequent examination at FC Barcelona confirmed that de Jong had a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee. He was presented with two treatment options.

The first option was surgery, which would require approximately 5 to 6 months of recovery but would offer nearly 100% certainty of a complete knee recovery.

The alternative was conservative treatment. If recovery progressed smoothly, de Jong could potentially return in approximately 3 months, but this approach carried the risk of not fully guaranteeing knee stability.

Faced with these two options, de Jong disregarded FC Barcelona's medical staff's recommendation and opted for conservative treatment first, accepting the risk of incomplete recovery. After rehabilitation lasting six weeks, de Jong returned to action on August 25, hoping to test his right knee's stability and overall physical condition. However, the results fell short of expectations, and he was forced to stop and left the field clearly disappointed.

Following this setback in his recovery, FC Barcelona again recommended that de Jong reconsider his treatment plan. Surgeon Juan Carlos Monllau met with the Dutch midfielder and advised that surgery was now the best option.

Nevertheless, de Jong has remained resolute in his decision, hoping to exhaust all possibilities of conservative treatment. To date, there remains clear disagreement between the club and player over next steps.

FC Barcelona has stressed that to avoid situations similar to those experienced by Umtiti and Ansu Fati, surgery is the only realistic option now. De Jong, however, remains unwilling to choose surgery, recognizing that doing so would force him to miss nearly three-quarters of the season.

Meanwhile, recent decisions by FC Barcelona suggest the club does not expect de Jong's near or medium-term return. The signing of Rodri and the registration of Brian Faríñez to the senior squad send a clear message.

Within FC Barcelona, discussions of de Jong's recovery now emphasize "day-to-day monitoring" rather than providing a clear timeline or specific projections. The club understands this injury is complex, and its long-term consequences are unpredictable.

De Jong's biggest challenge is the relentless passage of time. Initially, all parties planned to assess conservative treatment's effectiveness over 4 weeks, but more than 6 weeks have passed with no significant progress and no signs of a rapid resolution. Xavi, the Netherlands' new head coach, was asked about de Jong's situation at his unveiling press conference. Xavi stated that de Jong's priority right now is a complete recovery. He acknowledged that de Jong will miss the Netherlands vs. Germany match on September 24, which will be his first game as national team coach.

The international break in late September could prove a crucial juncture in determining de Jong's ongoing treatment plan. Should surgery ultimately be decided upon, de Jong is expected to return no earlier than April 2024, effectively ending his season prematurely.

If de Jong continues to insist on conservative treatment, his return date remains uncertain. Even in the best-case scenario, he may not attempt a return until November, and the extent to which his right knee will have recovered by then is still unclear.

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