Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Football Reporting
Football Reporting

Bundesliga

Netherlands boss De Boer will not put pressure on Van Dijk to return for Euro 2020


Netherlands boss Frank de Boer accepts it is unlikely Virgil van Dijk will return to action before next season and will not put pressure on the defender to be fit in time for Euro 2020.

Liverpool centre-back Van Dijk has been sidelined since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in October’s Merseyside derby against Everton.

The 29-year-old returned to individual training last month, but Klopp reiterated last week he does not expect him to play any part at this year’s rescheduled European Championship finals.

But De Boer, who was appointed as Ronald Koeman’s successor in September, says the final decision will be made by the player himself closer to the tournament.

“Anything he can contribute to Liverpool and possibly us would be a bonus,” De Boer said at a news conference.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

“I’m not counting on it at the moment. But if it were to happen, it would be fantastic for the squad. We’re going to see. I’m not putting any pressure on him at all.

“He has to do it himself and has to trust himself. The choice is with him. When the moment comes and we know how he is doing, you go with him to see what he can do.

“Then I have to make a decision about it. We let him take it easy now and continue his recovery work. Things are going well now. Whether that will be enough, we do not yet know.

“He is on the field. There can be setbacks. And setbacks can mean that he cannot play games for Liverpool. Then I can imagine them saying, ‘focus on next season’.”

The Netherlands start their World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign with a trip to Turkey on Wednesday, looking to extend a five-game unbeaten run after ending 2020 on a relative high.

De Boer leaves out Wout Weghorst

De Boer controversially chose to leave in-form Wolfsburg striker Wout Weghorst out of his squad for the match with Turkey, as well as the qualifiers against Latvia and Gibraltar.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Weghorst has scored 17 Bundesliga goals this season, placing him behind only Andre Silva, Erling Haaland (both 21 goals) and Robert Lewandowski (25) in the scoring charts.

But De Boer has defended his decision to omit the 28-year-old and instead put his faith in Sevilla striker Luuk de Jong, who has four goals in 25 LaLiga outings in 2020-21.

“I had to choose between Luuk and Wout. At the moment I choose Luuk,” he said. “I understand very well that it is a very delicate issue – it is also a very difficult issue.

“Certainly for Wout, but also certainly for me. Because Wout has done just fantastic, but Luuk has also done very well with the Dutch national team.

“We are in a very short period, then you consider things and I chose Luuk at that moment.

“I also called Wout and that was terribly difficult. He was certainly not happy, let that be clear. That is also normal, but at least he made it as difficult as possible for me.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

He knocks terribly hard on the door, let that be clear. There are already a few holes in it. It was by far my most difficult decision, but at the moment I choose other players. Some are a bit more multifunctional, for example.”





Source link

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Premier League

Raheem Sterling missed a first-half penalty against Leicester Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino says it is important that the club’s fans and players “move on”...

AC Milan

Following the conclusion of the international break, all of AC Milan’s players have returned to training at Milanello ahead of Saturday’s game against Fiorentina. ...

Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund will be away to FC Bayern Munich on Saturday. Kick-off is at 18:30 CET. We have compiled all the info on our...

UEFA

UEFA chose to revert to 23-man squads ahead of this summer’s European Championships in Germany, but managers including Gareth Southgate seemingly don’t agree with...