Holland are sweating on the fitness of Robin van Persie ahead of their meeting with England after seeing the striker forced out of training.
Striker nursing groin complaint ahead of England friendly
Holland are sweating on the fitness of Robin van Persie ahead of their meeting with England after seeing the striker forced out of training.
The in-form Arsenal forward skipped the last 10 minutes of an hour-long session at Wembley on Tuesday evening.
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk later confirmed that Van Persie had picked up a groin problem.
It is understood that the 28-year-old was carrying a slight knock when he reported for international duty, but Arsenal gave their blessing for him to link up with his country and have been informed of the latest developments.
Van Marwijk is still confident that Van Persie will figure against England on Wednesday, with it expected that a period of rest will see him fully fit in time for kick-off.
"We will have to wait and see but I don't think it's too serious. I am optimistic he will play," he said.
Future
Van Marwijk has also admitted to having spoken with Van Persie about his future.
Reports have suggested that he is destined to be the next high-profile departure at Emirates Stadium, with Barcelona among those reported to be keen.
"I speak a lot with Robin, but that is between us," said Van Marwijk.
"It is his decision and is none of my business. What I can tell you is that I have talked to him a lot of times, but it is between us."
He added: "Robin is in great form. He is a bit different now and is scoring a lot of goals.
"Normally he is a player who plays more in combinations, he did that at Arsenal with (Cesc) Fabregas and (Samir) Nasri. Now he is very deep but he also has the quality to score the goals there."
Unlucky
Holland cruised through their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, racking up nine wins out of a possible 10 to top their group ahead of Sweden.
England, on the other hand, have endured a troubled run-up to Wednesday's game.
The Three Lions are without a full-time head coach following the resignation of Fabio Capello, they do not have a permanent captain, and their squad has been ravaged by injury.
But Van Marwijk has vowed not to under-estimate the home side at Wembley.
"I am a big fan of England. They were really unlucky against Germany at the World Cup. They were unlucky not to qualify for the semi-finals," Van Marwijk said.
