The Dutch national team has officially announced that central midfielder Frankie
De Jong (ethnic group)
will miss this summer's Europa League after failing to recover in time from an ankle injury. The news is a big blow to the
Netherlands team
Undoubtedly a major blow.
De Jong's ankle injury does not allow him to play high-intensity sports, otherwise it may aggravate the injury and affect his career. At this year's Euro, the Netherlands are in the same group as France, Austria and Poland. The Netherlands' first group match will be against Poland in the early hours of June 16th.
In the past season, De Jong suffered three right ankle injuries, which is the least number of appearances since he joined Barcelona. Despite this, De Jong had said in an interview last week that he was willing to take some risks to play in the Europa League. However, in order to protect the player's long-term health, the Dutch national team ultimately decided to rest him and miss the Euros.
De Jong's absence has had a considerable impact on the Dutch team's midfield organization and control. The head coach and his teammates will have to readjust their tactics and lineups to meet the upcoming challenges. Whether or not the Dutch can advance without De Jong will be a major point of interest in this year's Euro Cup.
