World Cup Injury Watch

[Xifio]

The nation is in a state of shock. Robben has a hamstring injury. As of yet it's not clear yet how severe it is, but the poor guy's had some problems with injuries over the years. Man, this would be a massive blow to our World Cup chances.

I really hope he won't need to be dropped from the squad ... he just needs to be back for the knockout rounds, coz Elia and Afellay can fill in to negotiate passage through the group ... the chemistry with the big attacking players has been phenomenal ... Robben has to be fit, surely , for the sake of the beautiful game!

 

[yoyo913]

Lol @ people crying about injuries. There have always been a few injuries here and there and the world cup won't be ruined. Like Sevillista said, the world cup is about emerging stars and suprise teams.

edit: Actually not having Robben is upsetting only because of the hype I've been hearing from Shifty and the orgy of soccer he promises Holland will play.

 

[Xifio]

Actually not having Robben is upsetting only because of the hype I've been hearing from Shifty and the orgy of soccer he promises Holland will play.

hah you needed Shifty to tell you that the current Dutch crop will play delectable football? did you give EURO 2008 a miss or something?

 

[yoyo913]

Yeah, but the prospect of them playing even better than that sounds unreal.

 

[Xifio]

and it is definitely on the cards coz the attack is even more stacked than 2 years ago, though Robben needs to be there for that to truly be true ... fingers crossed ...

 

[ShiftyPowers]

I really hope he won't need to be dropped from the squad ... he just needs to be back for the knockout rounds, coz Elia and Afellay can fill in to negotiate passage through the group ... the chemistry with the big attacking players has been phenomenal ... Robben has to be fit, surely , for the sake of the beautiful game!

You're right. They can use Elia and Kuyt to fill in adequately in the group stage. Unless there's a tear, they need to bring him to South Africa, along with a team of 45 doctors and rehab specialists assigned to Robben personally.

 

[yoyo913]

Robben has really mastered that cut in the middle, far post shot hasn't he?

 

[Zlatan]

the chemistry with the big attacking players has been phenomenal ... Robben has to be fit, surely , for the sake of the beautiful game!

I know, right? Those 22 minutes that Van Der Vaart, Sneijder, Van Persie and Robben played together were magical. I had to think back to the days of '98 or maybe even '74 (although that's maybe going a bit too far). Damnit Robben, we need you.

 

[Dalecooper54]

It's all over Twitter that the Bayern team coach has said that Robben will only miss the first game. Let's hope.

 

[Help?]

From what I can remember, Holland's troubles were never in attack

 

[ShiftyPowers]

Robben has really mastered that cut in the middle, far post shot hasn't he?

Tell me about it. Now that he'll force defenders to close him down 25-30 yards out, I'm sure he'll slip a few through balls in for RvP when the defense is expecting a shot. It's the same thing with him cutting inside. 90% of the time he's going to cut in, but 10% of the time he keeps going outside and gets tons of space.

 

[Zlatan]

Several media here are now reporting that Robben's injury is less severe than initially people thought. He will travel to South Africa and Van Marwijk won't select a replacement for the moment.

 

[Xifio]

Tell me about it. Now that he'll force defenders to close him down 25-30 yards out, I'm sure he'll slip a few through balls in for RvP when the defense is expecting a shot. It's the same thing with him cutting inside. 90% of the time he's going to cut in, but 10% of the time he keeps going outside and gets tons of space.

in the champions league final, that tactic became one-dimensional: the ball kept being played to Robben, he kept cutting in (especially after Chivu was take off, and Zanetti was playing at L, and the Inter defence were waiting to snuff it out ... you guys really lacked any other creative attacking options that day ...

that's not going to be the case with the Dutch ... plus, van Marwijk deploys a pure #10 (either Raffie or Wesley) for the wingers to combine with / play a ball off of, as opposed to trying to link with someone like Thomas Müller for Bayern, who is more of a shadow striker and less of a trequartista ...

Several media here are now reporting that Robben's injury is less severe than initially people thought. He will travel to South Africa and Van Marwijk won't select a replacement for the moment.

great news ... looking forward to the official confirmation (monday) ...

 

[Zlatan]

Robben just reacted on national television about his injury. He said and I quote: 'It could potentially be okay in about a week.'

Not saying it will be, but it's still a good sign.

 

[Xifio]

fantastic!

 

[ShiftyPowers]

in the champions league final, that tactic became one-dimensional: the ball kept being played to Robben, he kept cutting in (especially after Chivu was take off, and Zanetti was playing at L, and the Inter defence were waiting to snuff it out ... you guys really lacked any other creative attacking options that day ...

that's not going to be the case with the Dutch ... plus, van Marwijk deploys a pure #10 (either Raffie or Wesley) for the wingers to combine with / play a ball off of, as opposed to trying to link with someone like Thomas Müller for Bayern, who is more of a shadow striker and less of a trequartista ...

It takes a very well disciplined defense to stop Robben for 90 minutes, but it can be done if there are no other options. Muller, for all his effort and positioning is just not very good with his feet yet; I say it all the time in the Bayern thread, but it's like he very recently grew 6 inches and hasn't quite gotten used to moving around with the longer legs.

The Dutch, as you say have no such problem. In addition to Sneijder, there's also van Persie who drops into holes between the defense and attack, plus Robben will have a nice safety pass to van der Wiel if and when he needs it.

 

[fender]

Another one bites the dust Nani out.

 

[Jaboldinho]

Really? Ouch, seemed like he was finally becoming a big player, he could have shut a lot of mouths during this World Cup.

 

[Zlatan]

Robben update: Van Marwijk said whatever happens he won't play Robben in the first game versus Denmark, because he lacks match practice.

 

[HellsideUltras]

Ok i think this is getting ridiculous!! wtf why arent the other bench and reserve players getting injured its always the main big starters.