Barcelona ready to place Frenkie de Jong on long-term injury list as club awaits player’s consent

Barcelona are preparing to begin the new season without Frenkie de Jong and are considering registering the midfielder as a long-term injury absentee, but can only proceed with the plan if the Dutch international agrees to it.

The La Liga club are still waiting for a definitive diagnosis on the severity of De Jong’s knee injury and the length of his expected lay-off, but early indications have not reassured officials at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona are understood to be concerned enough that, if the medical verdict confirms a serious problem, they will look to classify De Jong as a long-term injury case. Doing so would free up room under the first team’s wage cap, giving the club greater flexibility in managing their salary structure.

However, this registration move can only be carried out with the explicit approval of the player, and Barcelona are now waiting for De Jong to return from his holiday before taking a final decision.

Club waiting on final medical verdict

The Catalan side want De Jong to undergo the remaining tests and evaluations once he is back from his break, which they consider essential before reaching a conclusive medical report. Only after that process is completed will the club decide whether to place him on the long-term injured list.

De Jong’s situation has become a key issue for Barcelona’s planning ahead of the new campaign, as any change to his registration status would directly affect their financial leeway under La Liga’s salary regulations.

According to Spanish newspaper Sport, Barcelona’s intention, if the injury is confirmed as serious, is to make use of the long-term injury mechanism in order to “provide more space in the first-team wage cap”. The report stresses that this measure cannot be implemented unilaterally and “must be done with the player’s own consent”.

Frustration over handling of injury

Inside the club, there is said to be dissatisfaction with how the injury has been managed to this point by both the Netherlands national team and the player himself.

Officials at Barcelona believe the handling of the case at international level has complicated their planning and added uncertainty at a crucial time for the squad and the club’s financial strategy.

The hierarchy now want the matter settled quickly and are aiming to resolve De Jong’s status by the end of this week, once he has returned, undergone the necessary examinations and held talks with the club.

Until then, Barcelona are working under the assumption that they will have to start the season without one of their most important midfielders, as they await both the final medical outcome and De Jong’s decision on whether to accept a long-term injury registration.