FC Barcelona star out for over a month with ankle injury

FC Barcelona will be without one of their key players for up to 7 weeks according to a report by Mireia Ruiz Serapio of Catalunya Ràdio.

Frenkie de Jong was injured in Barcelona’s stunning 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Celta Vigo yesterday. A game that swung late thanks to a double strike by star striker Robert Lewandowski.

If De Jong were to miss 7 weeks, that would rule him out until the middle of November. The home match against Deportivo Alaves would likely be the target for the Dutchman, although everyone heals at a different pace.

If he does return for that Alaves match, it would mean missing the following games:

La Liga: @ Mallorca, vs Sevilla, @ Grenada, vs Athletic Club, vs Real Madrid, @ Real Sociedad
Champions League: @ Porto, vs Shakhtar Donetsk, @ Shakhtar Donetsk

If you look at the fixtures, it could be significantly worse. Although he’ll be severely missed against Porto in the Champions League and Real Madrid in La Liga.

Barcelona do have the depth to cover for short-term injuries and it’ll be interesting to see how Xavi lines up over the coming weeks.

Can Gavi fill the void opened by Frenkie de Jong for FC Barcelona?

One possible solution is to play combative midfielder Gavi in the Frenkie de Jong spot in midfield. Gavi is one of the best midfielders at the club in terms of regaining possession, and although he doesn’t have the range of passing that de Jong has, he’s still very tidy on the football.

Gavi started the game on the bench yesterday but was introduced to great effect with the midfielder putting in his usual energetic performance. If you’re playing next to Romeu you need to have plenty of legs, and Gavi has that in abundance.

It’s never easy to lose a player of de Jong’s calibre, but Barcelona are well placed to manage without the Dutchman for 5-7 weeks, which is the likely timeline for his return.