Frenkie de Jong made his long-awaited return to Barcelona on Tuesday after being sidelined for nearly five months because of an ankle injury.
The Dutch midfielder replaced Lamine Yamal in the 75th minute of Barcelona’s 5-0 rout of Young Boys in the Champions League.
De Jong had hurt his right ankle in April in a Spanish league Clasico against Real Madrid. He also missed the European Championship because of the injury.
His lengthy layoff led to some harsh treatment from local media, who questioned his recovery timeline and the amount of money he makes, and De Jong admitted before his return that the time off and some of the reporting surrounding his injury had taken a toll.
“I am really happy with the win and, personally, to be back playing,” De Jong said after the game. “The fans gave me a good reception and I’m grateful for that because you never know how you’ll be received. I didn’t expect it. I’m happy with the way I was welcomed back.
“The team is in good form and has been since the start of the season. We are playing well. We have to keep going now, keep improving and see where it takes us.”
When asked how he saw himself fitting into manager Hansi Flick’s team — an whether he’d be open to a role from the substitutes’ bench — the Netherlands international said he’d play whenever and wherever he was asked.
“It depends on the coach. He picks the team and who plays and I’m going to give everything I can,” De Jong said. “It’s always a tough time when you’re injured. It’s been a hard process and there have been some low moments during it.”
Barcelona had opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 loss at Monaco.
Also Tuesday, forward Ansu Fati made his second appearance of the season after replacing Pedri in the 63rd minute. Fati had played a few minutes in Barcelona’s match at Monaco last month.
“It’s a simple reason,” Flick said about the introduction for Fati. “Frenkie wasn’t ready yet, we needed a few more minutes for Frenkie to come out and so we said ok, let’s start with Ansu in that position and then let’s switch him with Frenkie and that’s what we did a little bit later.
“For Frenkie today was an important step, to come back to the team after having suffered such a serious injury, playing some mins today was important for him. I would have liked to have used him earlier but he came on when he did, he’s come a long way, got some touches, ran a little bit, it was important for him to feel like a football player again, and get that feeling back.”
Fati returned to Barcelona this season from a loan to English club Brighton last year.
Robert Lewandowski scored twice and Raphinha and Iñigo Martínez added goals for Barcelona, along with an own-goal by Mohamed Camara, in a dominant win against Young Boys.
“We are a bit more aggressive defensively, we press better, we play compact football, try to look to exploit the spaces, and on top of that when you win things are just easier, it’s easier to make these adjustments,” Flick said when asked about his team’s current form. “I think we’re the team with the most offside traps and for that we all need to understand the message and our role.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.