RIVERSIDE, Mo. (AP) — Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen was held out of training Wednesday, two days after hurting his hip in a collision during a tune-up match with Uzbekistan, leaving his status in question for the team's World Cup opener against Japan this weekend.
The 23-year-old Verbruggen is the first-choice goalkeeper for Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman. The Brighton standout was replaced by Mark Flekken in the 2-1 win over Uzbekistan,
while Robin Roefs also is on the World Cup roster.
The Netherlands begins pursuit of its first World Cup title on Sunday in Dallas. The Dutch follow their match against Japan with group games against Sweden on June 20 and Tunisia on June 25.
“We have to wait. We think (Verbruggen) can reach the match on Sunday, but day-by-day we have to wait for that,” Koeman said after a light, 90-minute workout at the training home of the NWSL club Kansas City Current. “The rest of the boys are physically OK.”
That should come as a relief to the Netherlands, which has reached three World Cup finals but has never won the tournament.
On Monday, the team announced Jurrien Timber had been ruled out because of a groin injury, even though the 24-year-old Arsenal defender had played 55 minutes in the Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain just over a week ago.
Timber was replaced on the roster by Lutsharel Geertruida, who plays for Sunderland.
Timber's injury came after the Netherlands learned it would be without Xavi Simmons, one of its top playmakers. Simmons had surgery last month after tearing the ACL in his right knee in a Premier League match for Tottenham.
The Netherlands flew to its World Cup base camp in Kansas City, Missouri, after its match against Uzbekistan on Monday in New York. Koeman canceled a training session Tuesday, in part because of heat indexes that were approaching triple digits, and his squad mostly played 3-on-3 footvolley — a volleyball-like exercise using feet and heads only — during its open training session Wednesday.
It was still brutally hot under the midday sun, however.
Asked whether he was accustomed to practicing in such weather, Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk thought back to preseason tours that his clubs have taken to the U.S. over the years. Most of those matches take place in late July and early August.
“Different places in Asia, it was similar type of temperatures. It was very humid,” van Dijk said. “But it's going to be the same for every team. You have to adapt quickly, and you also have to adapt in games as well. ... We'll be ready."
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
