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London: Manchester United striker Robin van Persie was substituted a half-time after suffering a thigh injury during Holland’s 4-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Hungary.
Van Persie took a knee to the thigh in a challenge with Hungarian defender Roland Juhasz but Dutch manager Louis van Gaal said he didn’t fear the injury was too bad.
He said: “We took off Robin for precautionary measures. It doesn’t seem to be too serious, but you never know. We didn’t want to take any risks.”
“It doesn’t seem to be too serious, but you never know. We didn’t want to take any risks.”
“I felt a twinge in the back during practice when I was on the ball. I had some treatment but didn’t want to risk causing the team trouble by playing,” said the midfielder. “Obviously it’s a shame I wasn’t able to play. It’s not that serious and I don’t think it will keep me out for long.”
Meanwhile, Andres Iniesta returned from Spain international duty with a muscle strain in his right leg and will be out for between 10 and 15 days, his club Barcelona said on Wednesday.
Iniesta will miss Saturday’s La Liga match at Getafe and Wednesday’s Champions League Group G opener at home to Spartak Moscow but could be back for the La Liga game against Granada a week on Saturday.
His Spain and Barca team mate Jordi Alba, who was also called up for Friday’s friendly against Saudi Arabia and Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier in Georgia, has the flu and club medical staff will assess the fullback’s health again on Friday, Barca added.
Forward David Villa, another Spain international, said on Wednesday he still needed some “running in” after recently returning to action following a broken leg sustained at the Club World Cup in December.
“I was out for many months, almost eight without playing, and that requires a certain recovery process,” Villa said before Wednesday’s training session.
“You have to be patient because rushing back now would not benefit anyone,” added the 30-year-old, Spain’s record scorer who netted on his first game back for both club and country. (agencies)
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