Euro 2008 Blog

Netherlands: Van Basten Gives Robin van Persie Room to Recover

May 22, 2008 – 4:07 pm | by admin

Arsenal FC’s player Robin van Persie has been training separately from Netherlands’ squad since joining the training camp on Tuesday. Netherlands’ national football team’s coach, Marco van Basten, decided to allow Robin van Persie to train apart from the rest of the squad in order to give him room to recover from older knee and thigh injuries, which have restricted him all season.

Marco van Basten wants each of his players to be fit for their opening EURO 2008 game against Italy on 9 June. But he can’t afford losing van Persie as a player at EURO 2008, so he decided to make an exception, giving Robin van Persie the necessary time to recover from injuries.

Van Basten will not rush Arsenal FC’s 24-year-old player, as he said that van Persie is “a very special player.”

“In principle, I believe any player who wants to be part of the EURO squad has to be able to play in the first match, but Robin is a very special player,” said Marco van Basten.

“We will be taking him with us even if he is a doubt for the Italy game. We do not want to take risks with Van Persie,” van Basten also added.
“Maybe he has returned too soon from injuries in the past. That is why we have chosen to have him train alone. We just have to wait and see when he is totally fit again. But obviously I hope that will be as soon as possible,” the Oranje’s coach also stated about Robin van Persie.

Arsenal FC’s player has scored seven goals in 24 international games and he is only 24 years old.

Tags: Euro 2008 News, Holland, Marco Van Basten, Netherlands, Robin van Persie