EURO 2024 fears a recurring injury crisis.

The shock of "Orange Tornado"

The Netherlands national team (a strong contender for the title) has just received shocking news after key midfielder Frenkie de Jong will miss EURO 2024 due to an ankle injury. The 27-year-old Barcelona midfielder was officially ruled out just before the Netherlands' 4-0 friendly win against Iceland on June 12th. He had not recovered in time despite being included in coach Ronald Koeman's squad earlier this month. His last appearance was in the defeat against Real Madrid in La Liga in April.

Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong (right) will be unavailable for EURO 2024 due to injury.

According to Dutch media, Frenkie de Jong's absence is considered a major shock for the "Orange Tornado" and for coach Koeman himself. The midfielder's role (54 caps) is considered crucial to the Dutch squad, with his extensive experience and his role as a key player in Koeman's tactical system. Without De Jong, the Dutch midfield lacks players with international experience. Except for Georginio Wijnaldum (92 caps), the rest are relatively inexperienced, causing Koeman a headache in choosing a replacement. The former Barcelona coach will likely field a three-man midfield consisting of Tijani Reijnders, Jerdy Schouten, and Ryan Gravenberch, as he did in the two friendly wins against Canada and Iceland. With Frenkie de Jong absent and striker Luuk de Jong retiring from international football, the responsibility of leading the young Dutch squad will fall heavily on the shoulders of captain and central defender Virgil van Dijk and forward Memphis Depay.

The title contenders are facing headaches due to the "virus" of injuries.

Although UEFA has postponed EURO 2024 by a few days to ease the burden on players since the 2023-2024 season ended in early June, the title contenders are still plagued by injuries. After having to drop young talent Aleksandar Pavlovic, Germany's coach Julian Nagelsmann is also worried about the health of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, in addition to the risk of injury to stars Toni Kroos, Antonio Rudiger, Niclas Fullkrug, and Nico Schlotterbeck, who just played in the Champions League finals with Real Madrid and Dortmund earlier this month.

World Cup runners-up France are closely monitoring the back and knee pain suffered by superstar Kylian Mbappe in a recent friendly against Luxembourg. Prior to that, coach Didier Deschamps was forced to drop left-back Lucas Hernandez due to injury. Other contenders such as defending champions Italy, runners-up England, Spain, and Belgium are also plagued by injuries ahead of this year's EURO. Italy had to drop defender Giorgio Scalvini, while key player Federico Chiesa may not be fully fit due to recurring injuries. Similarly, despite having a star-studded squad, coach Gareth Southgate had to call up defender Luke Shaw (who is not fully recovered) after dropping center-back Harry Maguire due to injury. Spain will be without veteran star Isco and young talent Gavi, while midfield playmaker Pedri may have to push himself to play in EURO 2024 after being sidelined for four months due to injury. Belgium is in a similar predicament, having to drop defender Thomas Meunier and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for the same reason. Meanwhile, Poland is concerned about the recovery of strikers Robert Lewandowski and Karol Swiderski after losing striker Arkadiusz Milik.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/euro-2024-lo-ngai-diep-khuc-chan-thuong-185240611185925802.htm