'Don't ever disrespect me!' - Barcelona forward Memphis Depay furious at injury rumours

Memphis Depay reacted angrily to rumours he has been delaying his return from injury with Barcelona ahead of the World Cup.

Has been out since September
Return date still unclear
Forward unhappy with rumours

WHAT HAPPENED? The Barcelona forward has been out since September with a hamstring injury. There has been speculation in Spain that he has been delaying his return as he does not want risk playing and suffering a setback which would rule him out of the World Cup.

WHAT THEY SAID: "Hearing some disrespectful rumours about me purposely slowing down my injury," he wrote on Twitter. "The media sharing things so easy without actually knowing the facts which as end result creates a negative narrative around my name! Don’t ever disrespect my professionalism!"

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Memphis is a key player for the Netherlands. He is second on the all-time list of top scorers for the Oranje, and will be hoping to make an impact at the World Cup. However, he has lost prominence at Barcelona this season, following the arrivals of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, and is out of contract in the summer.

IN TWO PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT FOR MEMPHIS? Barcelona have two more La Liga games before the World Cup, against Almeria and Osasuna, but it's not clear if Memphis will be available for either match.