Barcelona deflate without Frenkie de Jong according to the numbers

Barça's comeback 'in extremis' against Celta Vigo in Montjuïc had a negative note in the form of an injury: the Blaugrana could lose Frenkie de Jong for more than a month. The Dutchman was replaced in the 36th minute by Gavi and medical tests confirmed an injury to his right ankle.

De Jong has not been overly injury-prone. In fact, since signing for Barça in the summer of 2019 he has suffered just six injuries that have seen him miss 16 games in four seasons. None of them have been worrying or long-term. The current one could keep him sidelined for five to seven weeks.

But how has Barça fared when De Jong has been sidelined through injury? Not too well. Of the 16 games in which he has been absent, the Blaugrana have won just six. The rest of the record is made up of seven draws and three defeats. In other words, the Blaugranas have lost 62.5 per cent of the matches in which the Dutchman has been absent due to physical problems.

In terms of goals, Barça have scored just 18 goals in this run of matches: barely one goal per game, an excessively low average. They have also conceded a further 13: another high figure for what the Catalans usually average.

And how are these absences spread over the four seasons he has already completed at Barcelona? In his first season he missed seven games in the final stretch of the campaign and Barça won four games and drew three others. In 2020/21 he did not miss a single game through injury. 

The following year he went down in the early stages of the season in three games - two of them still with Koeman on the bench - and the Blaugranas won none: two draws and one defeat. Last season he missed seven games through injury in October and April, with two wins, two draws and two defeats.