Civil war at Barca! De Jong and the club at odds over his injury treatment

The tension at Camp Nou has gone from whispers to open conflict: Barcelona and Frenkie de Jong cannot agree on how to fix his injured knee.

Details: The Dutch midfielder is refusing surgery on the medial collateral ligament tear he carried through the World Cup, preferring conservative treatment, while Barcelona's medical staff believe an operation is the only definitive solution. Six weeks on, there has been no improvement, and frustration inside the club is growing.

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The rift runs deeper than medicine. Barcelona suspect De Jong managed his workload at the end of last season with the World Cup in mind, then played every game for the Netherlands with a heavily bandaged knee before their round of 32 exit to Morocco. Since then the relationship has soured fast: the 29 year old was whistled by his own fans at the team presentation, stripped of the captaincy, and now reports suggest a winter exit is not ruled out. For Hansi Flick, planning his season without his midfield metronome, the standoff could define the next six months, either the player relents and goes under the knife, or Barcelona explore a January sale.

It's worth noting that De Jong has history here: an ankle injury in 2024 saw a near identical dispute over surgery, costing him almost five months on the sidelines.

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