This year’s UEFA Nations League tournament is kicking off on the wrong foot for Barcelona fans.
Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay, Jules Kounde, and Ronald Araújo all suffered international break injuries over the last 24 hours.
Here’s the story and status for each star so far:
Frenkie de Jong – Netherlands
Fantastic Frenkie had to be subbed off in the 45th minute of the Netherlands’ 2-0 win over Poland yesterday. According to the official Dutch team website, de Jong left training today to return to Catalonia with an unspecified thigh issue.
Memphis Depay – Netherlands
Barca fans got double Dutched yesterday. Depay was subbed off seven minutes after Frenkie with an unspecified upper leg injury. It looks like the Dutch duo will be sharing a plane ride back to Spain. Luckily for Barca fans, Poland’s Lewandowski survived the loss.
Jules Kounde – France
The defender left France’s 2-0 victory over Austria just 24 minutes into the Nations League contest. According to the French papers, Kounde should be out for three weeks, at most, with a muscle injury. Hopefully, he’s ready to go for El Clasico against undefeated Real Madrid on October 16.
Ronald Araújo – Uruguay
Lockdown defender Ronald Araújo suffered an apparent groin injury in the opening minutes of Uruguay’s international friendly against Iran. Araújo’s status is still unknown.
If all four stars are still injured by the time LaLiga returns, FCB President Joan Laporta might be looking for more levers to pull.
Featured Image: Pexels/RODNAE Productions/FCBarcelona/DM