Frenkie De Jong has laid the blame for his medial collateral ligament injury at the door of the Netherlands national team staff.
The midfielder will be out for at least four months after receiving the diagnosis, Barcelona announced.
The injury likely won’t require surgery, but it’s caused anger back in Spain and particularly among online conspiracy theorists.
Some have suggested De Jong put country before club and played through the ailment, only to cause further problems for Barca.
He’s not confirmed that is half true, that he did play through injury, but only because the Netherlands medical staff said it was OK to do so.
De Jong explains his Barcelona injury
In an Instagram statement, he wrote: “I don’t usually pay much attention to what’s written about me, the team, or the club.
“But recently there’s been a lot of speculation about my injury and my situation at Barça.
“I find it difficult to see that some people are questioning my relationship and commitment to the club because of false information.
“Football is everything to me, and I’ve always given everything I have for FC Barcelona and my country. That’s why I want to share what happened.”
He explained: “During the World Cup, I suffered a knee injury.
“After the initial assessments, the doctors told me it was a minor injury and that it wouldn’t worsen if I continued playing.
“The only drawback was playing through some pain, but throughout my career, I’ve always done so whenever I could help the team, both with my club and my national team.
“During my vacation, I returned to Barcelona for further tests. These revealed that the injury was more serious than initially thought.
“Fortunately, surgery is not necessary at this time, and I am now fully focused on my recovery and returning to the pitch as soon as possible.
“Every day I work to be in the best shape possible. I take my profession, my body, and my responsibility to the team very seriously. But there are things you can’t control, and this injury is one of them.
“Playing for Barça and the Netherlands national team makes me incredibly proud, and my commitment to both will never change. I will continue to give my all for this badge, for my teammates, and for our fans.
“There are still many moments to live and many goals we want to achieve together. Thank you for all your support. I can’t wait to come back.”
Barcelona give Frenkie De Jong injury update
Confirming the injury, Barcelona wrote their own statement moments before.
It read: “The tests carried out on first-team player Frenkie de Jong have determined that he is suffering from a tear in the medial collateral ligament of his right knee.
“It has been agreed that the player will continue under medical treatment and monitoring, pending his progress over the coming weeks.”
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