Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has been ruled out of the Netherlands squad for the upcoming Nations League matches against Greece and Germany. The defender arrived at the national team camp with health complaints following his club’s match at the weekend, and the Dutch football federation announced that he is not in sufficiently good physical condition to play.
“The two players are not physically fit enough to take part in the upcoming matches,” the statement said regarding Van Dijk and Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey, who has also been ruled out of the squad.
Van Dijk played in Liverpool’s 3–1 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday. According to Reuters, he had maintained his run of playing every minute of the Merseyside club’s Premier League matches this season. Liverpool confirmed his absence from the national team and described the reason as a “fitness issue”, without specifying the nature of the complaint.
Van Dijk will not be available to manager Xavi Hernandez, after his most recent appearance for the national team came in the 2–1 victory over Serbia at the beginning of October. He made his 100th appearance for the Netherlands in that match.
Brobbey started in the 1–1 draw with Germany at the beginning of the campaign, but left the pitch injured shortly after the half-hour mark. No replacements have yet been called up for the two ruled-out players, leaving the Netherlands squad with 23 players.