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| Robben vows to fight to be fit |
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Arjen Robben has vowed he will "fight until I drop" to be fit for the World Cup after Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk refused to call up a replacement for the injured winger.
Robben suffered a tear to his left hamstring after scoring two goals in a 6-1 friendly win over Hungary on Saturday and it initially looked as though he may miss the upcoming tournament, but the player has revealed the tear is not as bad as first feared and that he will rush towards a World Cup comeback.
Given the Dutch are widely expected to progress to the second round at the very least, Robben should have at least three weeks to recover from what he said is usually a four-to-six-week injury if he is to feature in the knock-out matches. If Netherlands finish top of Group E, which also contains Denmark, Japan and Cameroon, they will play the runner-up from Group F on June 29.
Robben told Studio Voetbal on Sunday: "Today I had the scan and it's just a small tear in my left hamstring. It's the first time I have a injury on that spot of my leg. The last 24 hours I have had so much support from all the people around me and that had an positive effect on me.
"After the injury I went to the locker room for a first diagnosis which was very difficult. But it was clear that it wasn't good because I had a lot of pain. If I just let it heal than I'm back on the field in four to six weeks, but we don't have so much time. (Long-time physio) Dick van Toorn is going to help me. Tomorrow morning I'll meet him and we're going to work incredibly hard. I'm going to fight till I drop."
Van Marwijk has decided not to call up a replacement for Robben, an option available for players injured after the June 1 squad deadline, instead telling Dutch media he will give Robben "every chance" to be fit to take some part in the tournament. Van Marwijk has no shortage of quality replacements for the wide forward positions but he is perhaps looking ahead to the later rounds when he will need his very best players, of which Robben is one, in order to compete with the World Cup's best teams.
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