Rafael van der Vaart will miss the World Cup through injury

Rafael van der Vaart will miss the World Cup through injury


Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart will miss the World Cup through injury, Dutch media reported on Wednesday.

Van der Vaart, who plays his club football with Bundesliga side Hamburg, hurt his right calf at the Netherlands' training camp in Portugal.

Following medical tests Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal confirmed Van der Vaart would miss the finals in Brazil, according to Dutch magazine Voetbal International's website.

A statement on the KNVB's website on Wednesday morning confirmed the 109-times capped midfielder would not be in the final 23-man squad, which is due to be named on Saturday.

"Rafael van der Vaart will miss the World Cup in the Brazil," the statement said. "The Holland international has a calf strain in his right leg. Coach Louis van Gaal has therefore decided not to include him in the final selection."

The midfielder's absence likely means Wesley Sneijder will be definitely included in the final 23-man squad despite Van Gaal having previously expressed doubts as to the condition of the Galatasaray playmaker.

Sneijder and PSV Eindhoven captain Georginio Wijnaldum are expected to compete for the No.10 role in Brazil.

Van der Vaart is the third player to be ruled out of the finals because of injury, joining Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman (knee) and Paris Saint-Germain defender Gregory van der Wiel (tendinitis) on the sidelines.

The Dutch are in Group B at the World Cup along with defending champions Spain, Chile and Australia.
Loaded All Posts Not found any posts VIEW ALL Readmore Reply Cancel reply Delete By Home PAGES POSTS View All RECOMMENDED FOR YOU LABEL ARCHIVE SEARCH ALL POSTS Not found any post match with your request Back Home Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January February March April May June July August September October November December Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just now 1 minute ago $$1$$ minutes ago 1 hour ago $$1$$ hours ago Yesterday $$1$$ days ago $$1$$ weeks ago more than 5 weeks ago Followers Follow THIS PREMIUM CONTENT IS LOCKED STEP 1: Share to a social network STEP 2: Click the link on your social network Copy All Code Select All Code All codes were copied to your clipboard Can not copy the codes / texts, please press [CTRL]+[C] (or CMD+C with Mac) to copy Table of Content