June 11 – The Netherlands have been given a major blow ahead of Euro 2024 after an ankle injury to midfielder Frenkie de Jong ruled him out of the tournament.
The FC Barcelona player has failed to recover from an ankle injury and watched the team hammer Iceland 4-0 in a final friendly before the European championship from the bench, after which the Dutch FA (KNVB) announced that he would not feature in Germany.
“Since De Jong’s entrance into the Dutch training camp, it was clear that his participation in EURO 2024 would be a race against time. Although it was initially hoped that he would be ready to play during the group stage of the European Championship, a planned examination yesterday and today showed that the ankle is not yet sufficiently resilient. Because his recovery will take more time, it was decided following consultation that Frenkie de Jong will not play in the European Championship,” said a KNVB statement.
“He won’t be fit enough to play at this level for the next three weeks,” said manager Ronald Koeman. “There’s no point keeping him with us.”
In Group D, the Netherlands will play Poland, France and Austria. The Dutch won the European championship in 1988 on German soil, but aren’t be among the favourites to replicate that feat.
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