Netherlands De Jong Out of Euro 2024 Due to Injury

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has officially been ruled out of Euro 2024 with the Netherlands. The 27-year-old has been struggling with an ankle injury, but it was assumed that he would be fit in time to play a part for Oranje. De Jong was hopeful of recovering in time for the tournament after taking part in training with his Dutch teammates this week. Instead, he was officially ruled out less than a week before the Oranje's opener against Poland. De Jong won’t fly out to Germany with the squad for the tournament and will instead return to Barcelona for further treatment. The Ons Oranje account confirmed that De Jong would leave the squad and not play a part in the tournament.

De Jong's absence will be a huge setback for the Dutch team. Ronald Koeman had hoped the midfielder would be fit, but now he must find a way to cope without the Barcelona star. De Jong had previously expressed his willingness to take "certain risks" to play at Euro 2024, but it has now been decided that he's simply not ready. Meanwhile, Barcelona hopes that De Jong will benefit from a summer off and return fully fit and ready for the new season.

On Instagram, De Jong expressed his disappointment about missing the European Championship due to his ankle injury. He said 

"I'm sad and disappointed that I won't make it to the European Championship. We've been doing a lot of it the past few weeks, but my ankle needs more time unfortunately. It's a dream and greatest honour to represent our country in a final tournament. Wearing the orange shirt, singing the Wilhelmus and feeling the support of the entire country. But now I will, like the entire orange legion, cheer for our team from the sidelines. Let’s go, boys."

De Jong

• 16 June: Poland vs Netherlands at Volksparkstadion Stadium in Hamburg
• 21 June: Netherlands vs France at Red Bull Arena Stadium in Leipzig
• 25 June: Netherlands vs Austria at Olympiastadion Stadium in Berlin