Xavi is deeply concerned about Frenkie de Jong, journalist Jordi Grau reports on the programme Gol a Gol . The new national team coach has two worries over the situation surrounding the Netherlands midfielder.
Two weeks ago, the KNVB appointed Xavi as the new head coach of the Netherlands national team. The former midfielder already knows De Jong from their time together at Barça.
At the moment, De Jong is recovering from a knee injury he suffered at the end of last season. He played at the World Cup in severe pain and with injections, which may have made the situation worse.
For Xavi, there are two major concerns around one of the Netherlands national team's star players. The first is the injury itself. There is a chance the issue will not go away on its own and that De Jong will have to go under the knife. If that happens, recovery could still take months.
Another concern for the new national team coach is De Jong's situation at Barcelona. The club are not happy that the playmaker kept playing with the injury at the World Cup. Trainer Hansi Flick has since also taken the captain's armband away for that reason.
So far, De Jong has played 70 internationals for the Netherlands national team. He has scored twice in those matches.