By Mark Gleeson
June 1 (Reuters) - For the Netherlands, doing without talismanic midfielder Frenkie de Jong has become a regular occurrence over the last two years, but they are always a better team with him in the lineup.
The 29-year-old has battled with a succession of niggling injuries, notably an ankle complaint that kept him out of Euro 2024 and more recently a hamstring tear that meant he missed the last two internationals in March.
His tally of 64 caps could have been a lot more had it not been for
the setbacks, and the Dutch will be keenly awaiting a fit De Jong for the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
He is the engine of the side, dictating the tempo of play and directing the flow and direction from his deep-lying role in the heart of the midfield. His incisive passing adds an extra dimension to the Netherlands' attacking prowess.
It was no wonder that when he missed a handful of games for Barcelona as they retained the La Liga title last month concern over his availability heightened again, although Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman moved quickly to quell any angst.
"We are not worried, although it would have been better had he played," Koeman said.
De Jong has been to two major tournaments but missing Euro 2024 in Germany proved a major blow. His ankle injury meant he spent almost a half year out of action.
"For someone like me, that is eternity. It was the toughest period of my life," he said.
"I missed some games at Ajax in 2018, which was when Ronald Koeman was about to call me up for the national team. He was actually at the training when it happened.
"I tried to block a ball and landed wrong, and I tore my ligaments in my other ankle. But that was nothing compared to this one," he said.
De Jong returned to help the Netherlands qualify for the World Cup and last month became the Dutch player with the most appearances for Barca (293), which revealed his worth to the club, who have had a long succession of such greats from Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens to Patrick Kluivert and Koeman.
This World Cup is a chance for De Jong to carve out another place for himself among his country’s leading footballers.
"You have got even more desire to be there and to get the most out of it. Since my time with the Dutch team, I think we now have the squad with the most potential. But we also need to make sure we become the best team," he told The Guardian.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Ken Ferris)
