MANCHESTER UNITED STRIKER Robin van Persie has pulled out of the Netherlands squad to face Germany on Wednesday with a thigh injury.
Van Persie played the full 90 minutes of United’s 3-2 victory over Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday but has now dropped out of Louis van Gaal’s party for the in an international friendly midweek game.
Wolfsburg striker Bas Dost will replace Van Persie in the squad for the fixture. Van Gaal has been forced to leave four other players out of his plans for the match in Amsterdam. The encounter will come too soon for goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, midfielder Kevin Strootman and attackers Luciano Narsingh and Jermain Lens, so RKC goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet and Feyenoord trio Jordy Clasie, Ruben Schaken and Stefan de Vrij have been called up.
Although Dost has been summoned to replace Van Persie, the prolific forward’s injury is likely to open the way for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to start at centre forward. The Schalke star has scored 34 goals in his 59 appearances for his country, which compares favourably to Van Persie’s record of 31 goals in 71 international matches.
