At a glance
- FC Barcelona is set to do staggered returns for their injured stars Alejandro Balde, Jules Kounde and Frenkie de Jong.
- All three players should be back after the March international break, with Balde possibly ready for Atletico Madrid in La Liga on April 4.
- Kounde might also return against the same opposition but in the Champions League the following week, while De Jong is looking at Espanyol on April 11.
FC Barcelona has staggered post-international break return dates in mind for their injured trio of Alejandro Balde, Jules Kounde and Frenkie de Jong according to Mundo Deportivo and its trusted correspondent Fernando Polo.
Barça lost both its starting full-backs in the failed remontada against Atletico Madrid, where ReadBarcelona saw the Catalans win 3-0 at the Spotify Camp Nou in a Copa del Rey semifinal second leg meeting yet fall short of overturning the 4-0 loss in the fixture’s first installment on the road.
While Balde suffered an injury to his distal femoral biceps, Kounde tore his left bicep femoris. Later came De Jong, who injured his distal biceps in his right leg in training on February 26 and was caught appearing to cry in his car leaving the Joan Gamper CT.
Balde should be back first for FC Barcelona
Of the trio, it is expected that Balde should be back first and as soon as Barça’s maiden assignment when club football takes over the calendar again.
That’s a crunch league meeting with Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano on April 4, which is the first of three in said month considering a Champions League two-legged quarterfinal as well.
Joao Cancelo or Gerard Martin would be expected to start that fixture in Balde’s left back spot, but who mans the right back spot could also influence Flick’s decision on this.
Depending on how the match goes, as Barça holds a four-point lead over the top at Real Madrid, Balde might get a bit of a run out at the end if the visitors are in control of the action.
Next Comes Kounde
Kounde should also be available for Atleti, only for the mentioned Champions League showdown and not in the league.
The first leg is set to be played at the Spotify Camp Nou on April 8, where ReadBarcelona will be in the press box. And once more, Kounde’s involvement depends on what the tie demands.
At right back it could be Cancelo, Xavi Espart, Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia. Yet Kounde also provides options at centre-back to partner Pau Cubarsi or one of the two-latter mentioned players if Flick sees it necessary to introduce the Frenchman.
De Jong will probably be greenlit for FC Barcelona’s derby date
Flick said that De Jong would be available after the international break and this will prove true.
Mundo Deportivo thinks he can be fit for the first Atleti battle after the club said he’d be out for five to six weeks.
Yet given his history of immediate relapses after being rushed back into action, it’s more likely that we’ll see him in the derby against Espanyol recently scheduled for April 11 at 18.30 local time in the Catalan capital.
With Class of 2007 La Masia gem Marc Bernal continuing to rise in his place as a pivot with a goalscoring threat, there is no rush with De Jong.
It’ll be interesting to see who Flick favours to partner Pedri in the long run. While many Culers consider Bernal the future of the defensive midfield, he’s shown signs of fatigue such as in the 1-1 Champions League first leg draw against Newcastle where it was felt De Jong’s progressive ball-carrying under pressure was sorely missed.
