Robben doubful for Netherlands friendlies

Bayern Munich attacker Arjen Robben could miss Netherlands’ friendlies against Wales on November 13 and Germany four days later.

The 31-year-old recently returned to first-team action at Bayern after a spell on the sidelines due to a thigh injury and was included in national team coach Danny Blind’s provisional squad for this month’s games.

Nevertheless, Robben has made it clear that he does not want to take any risks and prioritises his fitness over representing his country at this stage.

“We will have to wait and see whether I will play against Wales and Germany. I will discuss my situation with the club to see what is a sensible decision here,” Robben told SBS6.

“We have to think hard about what the right decision is in my situation. My main goal now is to remain match fit until the winter break. I want to play a series of games and get some stability again. The past six months or so were terrible. I had not been injured for a while, got injured and then got another injury right away.

“Pre-season was no good for me. and then I picked up that injury versus Iceland. All in all, it has not been a good start to the season for me. That is why I am only thinking about staying fit right now.

“We will see how these friendlies fit into my schedule. We will discuss it with Bayern, the KNVB and Danny Blind. After that, we will make a final decision.”

Robben has collected 87 caps so far, scoring 28 goals for Oranje.