Barcelona have won all four games since the painful defeat at Stamford Bridge two and a half weeks ago, which also happened to be the last time Frenkie de Jong started a game.
The Dutchman went on to miss the next two with an illness, but since his return to the lineup Frenkie is yet to start and has played just over 50 total minutes as a substitute in the last two games.
Hansi Flick was asked in a press conference on Friday about Frenkie’s lack of minutes recently and explained it’s normal for De Jong to have to earn his spot back in the lineup after not playing a lot, especially given the form of Eric Garcia as a defensive midfielder.
“As I said before, this is the current situation, and we’ve played well recently with Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsí, Gerard Martín, Alejandro Balde, and Eric García. Frenkie de Jong was ill and missed two matches, which is why he didn’t play. He needs to recover, and it’s normal that he was out after what happened to him. For me, it’s important that we field our best 11 players to win the three points.
“At the moment we’ve seen Eric as a ‘6’ and he’s done well. Perhaps he needs to continue like that for now. It’s important that everyone recovers well. We’ll decide tomorrow. Eric can play as a ‘6’.”
Flick’s quotes seem to indicate Eric will remain the starting pivot for Saturday’s game against Osasuna and likely the next few games, and that De Jong might have to wait his turn for at least a while.
