Barcelona midfielder making progress in his recovery, will rejoin group training next week

Frenkie de Jong has yet to play a single minute of football for FC Barcelona this season.

The Netherlands international returned to the club in the summer with a knee injury he sustained while in action for the national team during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

While the possibility of surgery was considered, the 29-year-old midfielder decided against it and opted for conservative treatment instead.

And even though there were some concerns about this, the midfielder has made steady progress in his recovery.

Gradual return to group training next week

Indeed, according to journalist Laia Tudel on Tot Costa, De Jong has advanced substantially in his recovery from the knee injury sustained during the summer.

The former Ajax midfielder has been training alone in recent weeks at the Ciutat Esportiva, but is expected to take the next step in the coming week.

As per the report, De Jong will restart training with his teammates starting next week, with the plan being to reintroduce him to the workload gradually.

As such, he will only do a part of the group training session once the players return from the break next week, following which the intensity will be increased with each passing day until he is fully fit and ready to make a comeback.

No fixed date set

However, as things stand, Barcelona are not setting a fixed date for De Jong’s return to competitive action with the team.

Once he has resumed group training, the midfielder, coaching staff, and the medical department will jointly assess the situation and start determining a potential date for the 29-year-old captain’s comeback.

Therefore, the coming week will be very important, because at the moment he starts joining training with higher intensity, they will see whether he actually feels pain in the injured knee or not.

Barcelona resume their campaign against Getafe after the international break, following which they take on Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League. Following that, they face Real Betis before the biggest matches arrive.

After all, the La Liga champions face off against PSG and Real Madrid in back-to-back games later on in October. Only time will tell if De Jong is ready in time for those matches.