Robben joins Dutch squad but won't play against Denmark

Published>Sun, Jun 13 10 05:22 AM

Johannesburg, June 13 (DPA) Arjen Robben joined the Dutch soccer World Cup squad in South Africa Saturday after recovering from a hamstring injury.

But coach Bert van Marwijk reiterated that he did not want to take risks with the classy Bayern Munich winger and would not be fielding him Monday against Denmark.

He did not want to say exactly when Robben would play, with the other Dutch group games June 19 against Japan and June 24 against Cameroon.

'We're going to take it easy with him,' van Marwijk told broadcaster NOS. 'He has just trained once and played for 40 minutes in the last three weeks'.

Robben, 26, underwent five days of intensive treatment with his physiotherapist, Dick van Toorn, after limping out of a tune-up match against Hungary Saturday which left his World Cup participation in serious doubt.

He had final tests Friday and left that day for South Africa.

'It wasn't easy. I had a love-hate relationship with Dick. But I knew what I was torturing myself for,' Robben said Friday evening in Amsterdam before departing for South Africa.

'My condition won't be a problem. I'll mainly have to get acclimated to the altitude in Johannesburg,' the Dutch daily De Telegraaf quoted him as saying.

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