Frenkie de Jong aggravates hamstring injury in El Clasico defeat
By Tom Gott
Frenkie de Jong played Sunday's El Clasico with a minor hamstring injury which worsened during the game and is now likely to force him into a period on the sidelines.
The Dutchman was woefully off the pace during his 77 minutes on the pitch, failing to make an impact at either end of the field as Real Madrid ran out 2-1 winners.
As it turns out, Sport claim that De Jong was close to missing the game after complaining of a hamstring issue, but he forced himself to play the important game and appears to have taken a risk that has backfired.
De Jong complained of even more pain after his withdrawal from the game and his injury is 'now a reality', with the Dutchman expected to miss some action while he recovers.
He is expected to be unavailable for Wednesday's trip to Rayo Vallecano and could be forced to sit out the visit of Alaves at the end of the month, depending on the result of fresh scans on his hamstring.
Ronald Koeman may also find himself without winger Ansu Fati, who was withdrawn from the game late on because of pain in his knee - fortunately, not the knee that has been operated on extensively over the past 12 months.
Marca state that the feeling is that Fati's injury stems from such a long period out of the game and is nothing to be concerned about.
"Ansu had a small issue, but it doesn't seem anything serious," Koeman said after the game. "He has to rest."
The result leaves Barcelona in ninth in La Liga's standings, five points behind second-placed Real having played the same number of games.
Barcelona do have a game in hand over most of the sides above them, including leaders Real Sociedad, who boast a six-point lead over Koeman's men.