Frenkie de Jong Injured Against Excelsior, Status for Juventus Clash in Doubt

Ajax suffered a major blow during Saturday's 6-2 win over Excelsior, as star midfielder Frenkie de Jong came off early with a injury, putting his status for Tuesday's UEFA Champions League clash against Juventus in doubt.

Per Football Italia, the Dutch international lasted just 28 minutes minutes before he was substituted, and he immediately headed down the tunnel.

Fox Sports shared footage of the 21-year-old leaving the pitch as he appeared to reach for his hamstring:

Ajax manager Erik ten Hag took a major risk starting the midfielder, but Ajax are locked in a tight Eredivisie title battle with PSV and had to beat Excelsior. They cruised to an easy win, with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar bagging a hat-trick in the romp.

But the victory could prove costly if De Jong misses out on Tuesday's match in Turin. The rising star was arguably the best player on the pitch in the 1-1 first-leg draw in Amsterdam that left the door wide open for the underdogs to advance.

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De Jong was so good that even opposing manager Massimiliano Allegri went out of his way to praise him, per UEFA.com (h/t The Independent):

"De Jong is the real source of their game. We tried to control him with (Rodrigo) Bentancur in the early stages but, when he understood that, he moved deeper, and the forwards had to work hard on him. He played very well.

"Ajax have great qualities. They keep the ball well even when there are no spaces. I think we defended well even if we had to be better when we won the ball in midfield."

BT Sport shared some of his stats and highlights of that match (UK viewers only):

Jurgen Ekkelenkamp was his replacement against Excelsior and also played the last 15 minutes against Juventus. At the age of 19 and having made just six senior appearances, it would be a tall task for him to replace the Barcelona-bound De Jong.

Ajax will already be without the suspended Nicolas Tagliafico for the return leg on Tuesday.