Soccer-Blow for the Dutch as injury forces Van de Beek out of European Championship

Midfielder Donny van de Beek has had to pull out of the Netherlands squad for the European Championship because of injury, the Dutch football association KNVB said on Tuesday.

Midfielder Donny van de Beek has had to pull out of the Netherlands squad for the European Championship because of injury, the Dutch football association KNVB said on Tuesday. No details were given about the injury but the KNVB said examinations had concluded he would not be fit in time to play in the tournament, which kicks off at the weekend.

The Netherlands meet Ukraine in their opening Group C match in Amsterdam on Sunday. The 24-year-old Van de Beek, who has 19 caps, had trained separately from the rest of the squad on Monday, along with Matthijs de Light. The defender has a groin injury and sat out Sunday's friendly win over Georgia in the last warm-up for the Dutch.

The KNVB said coach Frank de Boer would not be calling up a replacement for Van de Beek, even though the Dutch are entitled to replace him before their first game. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Christian Radnedge)

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