Tournament News
Van Persie fit to face Uruguay
2010-07-04 16:38
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Johannesburg - Robin van Persie has been cleared to face Uruguay in the World Cup semi-finals despite injuring his left elbow against Brazil.
Dutch team spokesperson Monique Kessels said on Sunday a scan had showed that the injury was not as serious as first feared.
"It was his elbow. I don't know the exact results of the scan but it's good news for us," Kessels told The Associated Press.
Defender Joris Mathijsen is also fit to play, Kessels said, despite being a late withdrawal before Friday's 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Brazil because of a right knee injury.
"The injuries to both players are not that serious," Kessels said. "Van Persie trained but not with the group, so that he did not have any physical contact with the other players. Mathijsen also trained on his own his own but later joined in with the others."
Although Van Persie has been cleared to play, his form at the World Cup has not been as good as the Dutch had hoped. He has started all five games but has been taken off each time and scored only once, in the team's 2-1 final Group E victory over Cameroon.
Van Persie has been unable to produce the form he shows for Arsenal, despite scoring four goals in three warm-up games.
In the 2-1 victory over Slovakia in the last 16, Van Persie appeared upset at being replaced, and reports in the Dutch media said he had indicated that Wesley Sneijder should have been taken off instead. Sneijder went on to score the second Dutch goal.
The Dutch, who came into the World Cup with an impressive record, have won all five matches to extend their unbeaten streak to 24 games. But they have only shown occasional flashes of brilliance.