More injury woes for Dutch before key Euro 2024 qualifier

AMSTERDAM : Injury plagued Netherlands were forced into another squad change on Thursday after defender Jeremie Frimpong was injured at training and pulled out of their European 2024 qualifiers against the Republic of Ireland and Gibraltar.

Jordan Teze has been called up as a replacement for the Bayer Leverkusen player, the Dutch football association said.

Lutsharel Geertruida was also injured during training on Thursday, but the Feyenoord defender will remain with the squad for the time being to see if he makes a quick recovery before the Dutch play Ireland on Saturday, where a win will ensure a place at next year’s finals in Germany.

Frimpong is the fourth player to pull out of the last two Euro 2024 qualifiers since coach Ronald Koeman named a 25-man selection last Friday. Nathan Ake, Steven Bergwijn and Brian Brobbey preceded him. Toulouse striker Thijs Dallinga and Teze, who plays at PSV Eindhoven, have come in as replacements.

Before the squad was named, Koeman already had to do without defenders Sven Botman, Mathijs de Ligt, Micky van de Ven and Tyrell Malacia, plus star midfielder Frenkie de Jong and leading striker Memphis Depay.

After the match against the Irish on Saturday, the Dutch will complete their Group B campaign away against Gibraltar in a match being played in Faro, Portugal.

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Julien Pretot)