Virgil van Dijk will ultimately make the decision on his participation at the upcoming Euros, according to his Netherlands defensive partner Matthijs de Ligt.
Liverpool star Van Dijk has been out since October, with the centre-back having sustained a serious knee injury after a challenge from Everton and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Jurgen Klopp has consistently stressed caution over the return of Van Dijk, who stepped up his rehabilitation at a facility in Dubai before heading back to Merseyside.
It remains to be seen whether the 29-year-old will be fit to play again before the season is out, and as such his participation in the Euros is doubtful.
Netherlands boss Frank de Boer claimed in the build-up to Wednesday's defeat to Turkey that Van Dijk had another eight weeks left on his recovery, with the Oranje coach claiming he was not relying on the former Southampton and Celtic man to return in time for the tournament.
De Ligt, however, was less pessimistic, with the Juventus defender revealing Van Dijk is in good spirits, and will return when he feels the time is right.
"We had a meeting yesterday, [Van Dijk] was there too," De Ligt said on Friday.
"He looked very good, he seemed very fresh and free. Of course, I don't know how he feels physically, he doesn't really want to put any pressure on himself either.
"He has a clear mind and looks at it day by day. He is calm and wants to see where he's at, at moment the Euros are starting. I think it's important for him to be calm, and to be able to recuperate from his injury without any pressure from us or from the country.
"He will decide if he will be at the Euros. If he's there, he’s there. If he's not there, other guys will have to fill his shoes. But yesterday he looked well."
With Inter's Stefan de Vrij having contracted coronavirus, De Ligt's former Ajax team-mate Daley Blind partnered the 21-year-old in defence against Turkey.
It was neither of the duo's finest performances, with Burak Yilmaz scoring a hat-trick in a 4-2 win for Netherlands' World Cup qualification rivals.
Asked who he would prefer to have next to him should Van Dijk fail to make the Euros, De Ligt replied: "That's a question that’s not really relevant to me.
"In the end, it's the manager who decides who plays, what we need. In possession, Daley is one of the best defenders I have ever played with.
"Stefan plays in Italy, is more physical and is stronger than Daley. So it might also depend on our opponents. We also have Nathan Ake and other guys. There are enough options.
"I might not even be playing. That's something the manager decides, that depends on the game. We simply have to respect the manager's decisions."
Naparima and San Juan North win five on the trot in SSFL action in T&T
Naparima and San Juan North maintained their 100 per cent win records in Trinidad and Tobago’s Secondary Schools Football League Premiership Division on Wednesday. However, Fatima College lost their perfect record after they were held to a goalless draw by St Benedict’s College.
Naparima maintained their exemplary goal-scoring form when they blanked Malick Secondary 3-0. Those three goals took their tally in five matches this season to an impressive 32 goals while conceding only two.
The win took them to 15 points and sees them leading on goal-difference over San Juan North, who edged Arima North Secondary 1-0.
Meanwhile, Fatima College lost their perfect record when they were held to a 0-0 draw, a result that sees them fall two points behind Naparima and San Juan North.
St Anthony’s College picked up three valuable points following their 10-1 drubbing of Chaguanas North Secondary. They now have nine points and are fourth in the table, one point ahead of fifth-placed Presentation College, who were held at a 1-1 draw with Speyside High School, who are sixth on seven points.
Elsewhere, Trinity College East, who are next to bottom in the league table played to a 2-2 draw with bottom-placed Pleasantville Secondary. The schools have two and one point, respectively.
St Mary’s College earned their second win of the season after outscoring East Mucurapo Secondary 3-2 while Bishop’s High School had their first win after edging Queens Royal College 1-0.
Celtic’s defensive injury crisis easing as Nat Phillips returns
Celtic’s injury problems in central defence are easing as Nat Phillips and Cameron Carter-Vickers step up their comebacks.
Phillips has missed two games after rolling his ankle on his debut against Dundee but the on-loan Liverpool defender could return in Saturday’s cinch Premiership meeting with Motherwell at Fir Park.
The centre-back’s return is a welcome boost for manager Brendan Rodgers as Gustaf Lagerbielke’s European suspension would otherwise leave Liam Scales as the only fit central defender for next Wednesday’s Champions League visit of Lazio.
Rodgers said: “Nat Phillips we are keeping an eye on, he has rejoined the group but we just have to make sure with his ankle. But that looks much better. Hopefully (he will be back) for the weekend.
“No-one else who has been out injured will be back.”
Carter-Vickers is also stepping up his return from a hamstring injury while fellow centre-backs Stephen Welsh and Maik Nawrocki are further behind.
“Cam is coming back in to rejoin the training group but he is not going to be ready until after the international break, I would suspect,” Rodgers said.
The Celtic manager will make a decision over who replaces the suspended Joe Hart at Fir Park.
Scott Bain came off the bench and kept a clean sheet after Hart was sent off in the first half of Celtic’s 3-0 win at Livingston on Saturday but Benjamin Siegrist is another option.
Rodgers said: “We will look at it between Scott and Benji. Both of the guys work really hard every day so we will finalise the team on Friday.”
New law around drug possession leads to rise in number of football arrests
Football arrests continued to rise last season although the latest increase can be attributed to the addition of drug possession as an offence under the Football Spectators Act, new figures from the Home Office show.
There were a total of 2,264 football-related arrests during the 2022-23 season, up from what was already an eight-year high of 2,198 the previous campaign.
But that increased figure included 200 arrests for the possession of class A drugs, added as an offence under the Football Spectators Act in November 2022, and 101 arrests in England and Wales that related to the World Cup in Qatar.
The figures released on Thursday counted arrests made in England and Wales relating to fixtures played overseas for the first time.
The rise in the number of arrests was reflected in 682 new football banning orders being imposed, the highest number since 2010-11 and up 32 per cent on the previous season, with the total number of banning orders being in force rising to 1,624, up 24 per cent on the previous total of 1,308.
However, the total remains lower than the pre-pandemic number of 1,771. Banning orders last for a minimum of three years.
The Home Office said the number of matches with reported incidents decreased by six per cent.
West Ham topped the table for the number of arrests by club with 89, six more than Manchester United. Leeds had the third highest total with 69, the highest increase (+25) of any club from the previous year.
The figures counted data from matches involving clubs from the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship for the first time, although there were no arrests at any of the women’s games.
With overall attendance up to 45million at the matches included in the results, the number of arrests worked out at 5.0 per 100,000 fans, down from 5.2 per 100,000 the previous season.
Last year’s figures had been released following a spate of high-profile incidents involving pitch-invading fans – with custodial sentences imposed on a Leicester fan and a Nottingham Forest supporter – but arrests for such offences are down 53 per cent (166 incidents) this time around.
Of the 682 new banning orders imposed, 99.6 per cent were given to males, with 70 per cent of them aged 18-34 and two per cent aged 17 or under.
Manchester United had the highest number with 69, the first time the Old Trafford club had been in the top five for banning orders since 2016-17. Millwall were second with 66.
A total of 123 arrests were made related to overseas matches involving England and Wales. While 101 were connected with the men’s World Cup in Qatar, none were related to the Women’s World Cup.
The number of recorded incidents of online hate crime was 234, up from 103 the previous year, although this rise was attributed to better reporting and recording of such incidents.
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