Schaars, De Guzman ruled out

Stijn Schaars and Jonathan de Guzman have been ruled out of the Netherlands’ upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers due to injury.

Louis van Gaal’s side have already secured their place at Brazil 2014 but will aim to maintain their unbeaten run in qualifying when they face Hungary and Turkey.

A statement on the Dutch Football Association’s website confirmed that a knee injury has ended PSV midfielder Scaars’ involvement, while Swansea City’s de Guzman has been sidelined with a groin problem.

Schaars started in both recent qualifiers against Estonia and Andorra that saw the Netherlands seal their spot in next year’s finals.

De Guzman was named on the bench in both matches and was a 75th-minute replacement for Jetro Willems in the 2-2 draw in Tallinn in September.

Norwich City midfielder Leroy Fer has been called up as a replacement after 13 months out of the national side and he would collect his third cap if used in either game.

The Netherlands face Hungary in Amsterdam on Friday before meeting Turkey in Istanbul four days later.