Dutch in disarray as injury crisis bites

Published on Friday 10 October 2008 23:24

NETHERLANDS head coach Bert van Marwijk admits his plans for tonight's World Cup qualifier against Iceland have been thrown into disarray following an injury crisis.

With first-choice goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg of Ajax out injured, Van Marwijk issued a shock SOS to Manchester United's Edwin Van der Sar, who retired from international football after Euro 2008. The 37-year-old, who has 128 caps, will start against Iceland and against Norway on Wednesday.

Van Marwijk plan's were further disrupted when Arsenal's Robin Van Persie withdrew with a hamstring injury in midweek, adding to the absence of Arjen Robben, Celtic's Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and John Heitinga.

Van Marwijk will be hoping the Dutch can consolidate their position at the top of Group 9 after opening their campaign with a 2-1 victory in Macedonia last month, but admitted the injuries have affected his plans for the forthcoming qualifiers.

"I had a general idea of how we want to do it, but on Monday morning there were some surprises," the coach said earlier this week. "This week, we seemed to be out of luck more than usual. Until Tuesday, I hoped everybody would be fit."

Dutch prospects could be boosted by the return from injury of Wesley Sneijder.

"This week, Valter di Salvo, physiologist of Real Madrid, visited us and he saw Wesley was doing well," Van Marwijk said. "He said Real has no problem if Sneijder plays."