Feyenoord ‘several weeks’ without Geertruida, Bijlow nears return after wrist fracture

Lutsharel Geertruida has had to pay for his international debut with the Dutch national team with a hamstring injury. The defender will therefore miss a couple of important games for his club Feyenoord, in perhaps the busiest period of the year.

The Eredivisie frontrunner not only plays Sparta Rotterdam, RKC Waalwijk, SC Cambuur and FC Utrecht in the coming weeks, but also the cup game with Ajax and the double against AS Roma in the Europa League in midweek.

Geertruida had to be replaced by Tyrell Malacia during the defeat against France (4-0) just before time, already grabbing his upper leg. How long the defender will be sidelined is not exactly clear. Feyenoord speaks of “several weeks.

His teammate Justin Bijlow, who was missing from Orange’s selection for the past two European Championship qualifiers due to a wrist injury, is nearing a return to the fields. He has been training with the team for a while, but has now reappeared on the pitch with his goalkeeper’s gloves.

Gernot Trauner is also uncertain for Sunday’s game with Sparta Rotterdam. The central defender suffered knee problems during his stay with the Austrian team. He had to sideline prematurely in the game against Azerbaijan (4-1) and did not feature in the match against Estonia.

Leaders Feyenoord defend a six-point lead over rival Ajax.