The Spanish media call the resultant injury issues after an international break the ‘FIFA Virus’ as players come back not fit to take part in the next club match. It’s a huge frustration for managers and supporters, and some international games are watched with crossed fingers.
France travelling to the Amsterdam Arena to face the Netherlands this week was the biggest match of the night, and on terrestrial TV in the UK, so there will have been plenty of Liverpool fans watching, hoping that Georginio Wijnaldum came through the match unscathed and fighting fit, ready to face Manchester United in a crucial game on Monday.
However, when he went off with what looked to be a classic hamstring injury, the anger towards international football will have crept in. Liverpool will now have to check if Wijnaldum is fit for the match at Anfield, and Jurgen Klopp may have to shuffle his pack.
An interesting suggestion comes from Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf on Wednesday. Rating the performances after a cooling down period, Wijnaldum is given 5 out of 10 and reporter Keje Molenaar, a former Dutch footballer, criticised the player’s performance, explaining he’s performed much better for the Netherlands in the past, so didn’t really seem himself.
However, it’s this snippet from Molenaar about Wijnaldum which is most interesting: “…maybe from the beginning he wasn’t quite fit.”
If Molenaar’s hunch is correct, and Jurgen Klopp finds out, then he’s going to be furious that a player was risked.
