Dutch boss won't rule out Memphis, but fears injury: “It doesn't look good” | OneFootball

The Netherlands coach, Ronald Koeman, admitted concern over the injury to striker Memphis Depay, confirmed this Monday by Marcelo Paz, football director of Corinthians. Despite this, he has not yet completely ruled out the player’s presence in the Dutch squad for the friendlies against Norway and Ecuador.

“I wasn’t texting Memphis. It was the medical team. I was sleeping deeply. These are things I don’t usually do anymore. When I woke up, I received some messages informing me that Memphis had gotten injured,” Koeman said at a press conference.

Memphis Depay felt the injury in his right thigh right after Corinthians’ equalizing goal in the match against Flamengo, around the 18th minute of the first half. The Dutchman was involved in the play by switching the ball to Matheus Bidu and, immediately after, put his hands on the area and asked to be substituted.

(Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians)

Will Memphis report to the squad?

The Dutchman was frustrated by the physical problem due to the possibility of missing national team matches, especially with the World Cup approaching. Koeman did not rule out the possibility that Timão’s number 10 will report to the national team, but made it clear that this will only be necessary if the injury is not serious.

When asked if he would call up a replacement in case Memphis is ruled out, Koeman was candid and said no. “I wouldn’t know who [to call up],” the coach concluded.

Paz comments on uncertainty over reporting

Corinthians’ football director, Marcelo Paz, commented on the uncertainty regarding Memphis Depay’s reporting to the Dutch national team. The executive explained that the decision is in the hands of the national team.

“He has an injury, the injury was diagnosed. The Dutch national team has the prerogative to say he has to go there, no matter what. That’s a prerogative of national teams. When a player is called up and gets injured before reporting, the national team can still require him to report. If the Dutch national team decides so, he will report,” he said.

“He got injured in the match, everyone saw his effort. He’s a great athlete, a very committed guy. It’s a shame he got injured, if he had stayed on the pitch we would have had a better chance of winning, but that’s part of football. If the Dutch national team wants him to go, he’ll go and then come back, no problem at all,” the executive concluded.

The Netherlands’ first friendly will be against Norway and is scheduled for this Friday at 4:45 p.m. (Brasília time). After that, they face Ecuador next March 31 (Tuesday) at 3:45 p.m. Both matches will be at home.

Upcoming Corinthians matches

Fluminense vs Corinthians (ninth round of the Brazilian Championship) Date and time: 04/01 (Wednesday), at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) Venue: Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ)

Corinthians vs Internacional (tenth round of the Brazilian Championship) Date and time: 04/05 (Sunday), at 7:30 p.m. (Brasília time) Venue: Neo Química Arena, in São Paulo (SP)

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.