Frenkie de Jong has returned to non-contact training with the Netherlands as he recovers from an ankle injury, but he may miss the UEFA Euro 2024 opener against Poland.
De Jong was included in Ronald Koeman’s final 26-man squad for the Euros despite an ankle problem that has kept him out of action for Barcelona since the 3-2 loss to Real Madrid on April 21.
He made 30 appearances in all competitions as the Blaugrana endured a disappointing 2023-24 campaign, finishing well with Madrid at the top of LaLiga and exiting the UEFA Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight.
He has been a regular in the Oranje squad since his senior international debut in 2018 and Koeman hopes he can feature in the Group D games against France and Austria, even if he will not be available for their opener against Poland next Sunday. .
“He was part of training but we kept him out of any contact,” Koeman told a news conference ahead of Monday’s final warm-up game against Iceland.
“Frenkie may miss the first game, but we can wait until the second or third game. That’s a possibility.
“Even if he won’t be able to play the first two games, we’ll stick with him. But if it looks like he’ll miss the whole group stage, I might have to reconsider his selection.”
In De Jong’s absence, PSV’s Jerdy Schouten started in midfield alongside Georginio Wijnaldum and Ryan Gravenbech as the Dutch beat Canada 4-0 in a friendly on Thursday.
Asked about the overall state of his squad, Koeman added: “A lot of players rested towards the end of the season and came in fresh.
“There were also players who weren’t ready for the full 90 minutes, but we were able to train well. It’s up to us to loosen the reins in time to go into the first game super fit.”
Euro 2024 will be the 11th edition of the tournament, featuring the Netherlands, who won their only major international trophy when the competition was last held exclusively in Germany in 1988.
Only Germany (six times) have reached at least the semi-finals of the Euros more often than Oranje (four times) since 1988. However, they have not reached the final four since 2004.
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