De Jong talks Xavi’s Netherlands appointment and difficult Barcelona injury spell: ‘Was a little surprised’

De Jong talks Xavi’s Netherlands appointment and difficult Barcelona injury spell: ‘Was a little surprised’ In a recent interview with Dutch broadcaster NOS (h/t Mundo Deportivo ), Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong revealed that club legend Xavi Hernandez called him prior to being appointed as the new Netherlands manager. The pair, who worked together during Xavi’s time as the Barcelona manager, will reunite during the upcoming international window after De Jong missed the previous break due to an injury. And, during the interview, the midfielder welcomed the prospect of working closely with his former Barça coach in the national team setup. De Jong surprised by Xavi appointment De Jong revealed that prior to Xavi’s appointment as the new manager of the Netherlands, the former midfielder personally contacted him. “He called me beforehand, it was nice to know he was considering it,” he said. At the same time, the Dutchman admitted that he was slightly surprised by the development as the national team had not had a foreign coach for some time now. Reunited with the Netherlands national team. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) “Since we hadn’t had a foreign coach for a long time, I was a little surprised. But I was happy,”  he noted. The experienced midfielder then went on to state that Xavi’s appointment might be a step in the right direction for the national team and that he already understands the style and philosophy that the Barcelona legend will bring with him. “We worked well together in Barcelona. I know how he thinks about football, and that fits well with the national team,” said De Jong. “He wants to press and attack; he won’t change his principles. Tactically, he has a lot of variety in how he executes them.”  “Now we have to start rebuilding, and that’s going to take time,” he added. De Jong opens up about difficult injury recovery During the interview, De Jong also reflected on his recent injury and the lengthy recovery period that prevented him from starting the season with Barcelona. The Dutchman suffered a knee injury during the Netherlands’ World Cup campaign and was sidelined for nearly four months, before making a comeback last weekend in the team’s 1-2 defeat to Real Madrid. De Jong returned from injury against Real Madrid. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) “It was a long and difficult period,” De Jong acknowledged. However, he also admitted that he was confident about his recovery, saying: “There was much less uncertainty about whether and when this injury would heal than, for example, with my previous ankle injury.” The injury situation also led to some friction between De Jong and Barcelona, as the midfielder held firm on wanting to continue conservative treatment despite the club leaning towards surgery. However, he insisted that the situation had been resolved amicably with the club, saying: “Everyone knows the situation and how things unfolded, so there are no hard feelings . Of course, we discussed it during the decision-making process regarding whether or not to have the surgery. “Then the decision was made collectively, and we moved forward.”  Having made his comeback against Real Madrid last weekend, De Jong could be in line to start for Barcelona tonight against Alaves, that too as a makeshift centre-back .