Cody Gakpo has become the latest Liverpool player to withdraw from international duty, though concerns surround on a possible injury to the Netherlands international.
Gakpo ruled out from the Netherlands fixtures
Liverpool attacker Cody Gakpo has withdrawn from the Netherlands squad due to illness, along with four other players, ahead of their Euro 2024 qualification matches against France and Gibraltar.
The Dutchman is among a number of players to withdraw from the squad – including Newcastle United’s Sven Botman – due to a viral illness within the camp.
Gakpo has been in good form for both club and country, scoring four goals in nine Premier League games for Liverpool and six goals in 14 games for the Netherlands.
Gakpo was initially selected to play for the Netherlands in their Euro 2024 qualifying matches against France and Gibraltar, but due to a viral illness within the team, he and several other players had to withdraw.
Liverpool has confirmed that he will now return to the club to recover for the remainder of the international break in March.
The Reds’ injury curse
Liverpool has been dealing with several injury concerns, including Stefan Bajcetic, Calvin Ramsay, Thiago Alcantara, and Luis Diaz, but some players could return soon.
The Reds have had a rough time as both Darwin Nunez and Ben Doak had to withdraw from their national team games due to injury, amidst a packed schedule for the teams.
Sadly, Gakpo has now become a part of this unfortunate trend. However, unlike the other strikers, the 23-year-old is not sidelined by an injury.
Rather, the Netherlands team has been hit by a virus that has caused a significant loss of players, with a fifth of their squad now affected.
Gakpo along with Sven Botman, Matthijs de Ligt, Joey Veerman, and Bart Verbruggen have departed due to the virus outbreak.
Consequently, Ronald Koeman has called up three replacements, namely Stefan de Vrij, Kjell Scherpen, and Ryan Gravenberch.
Interestingly, Liverpool is keeping an eye on Gravenberch as a potential transfer target for the upcoming summer window.
Virgil van Dijk remains with the Netherlands and should captain Koeman’s side in both fixtures, with the dismissal of Gakpo and Co. clearly a preventative measure to avoid any further spread.
Gakpo is now likely to return to Merseyside early, and the hope will be that he can recover and be available for the trip to Man City on April 1.
Luis Diaz is due to report for full training next week and could, therefore, take a place on the bench at the Etihad, but he would not be considered to start.
Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota are both on international duty this month, but Roberto Firmino was omitted from the Brazil squad along with Alisson and Fabinho.
Liverpool plays Man City, Chelsea, and Arsenal in the space of nine days at the start of next month, and Jurgen Klopp will need the likes of Nunez and Gakpo available.
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