Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg has been handed another injury setback as he will miss the European Under-21 Championship.
A muscle problem will keep the Reds centre-back out of the Netherlands' quest for success in Georgia and Romania. It adds another disappointing marker in a difficult 12 months for Van den Berg.
He spent last season away from Liverpool on loan with German club Schalke 04 as they were relegated back to the 2.Bundesliga - with defeat on the final day securing their fate. He had spent most of the campaign sidelined after suffering a serious ankle injury in October.
After undergoing surgery to mend the issue, he returned in time to feature in Schalke's bid for survival in the latter stages of the season.
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In May, the 21-year-old detailed that his future would not be determined until after the European Under-21 Championship, which get under way on Wednesday. He featured in Netherlands' friendly against their Under-21 counterparts Japan this week as they played out a goalless draw. But reports in his homeland, namely Nos, have claimed Van den Berg will now miss the tournament through injury, describing it as a "major loss".
"In the summer I hope to take part in the U21 European Championship. Only then will it be decided where I will play in the coming season – it was similar in the past three years," Van den Berg said last month.
"At some moments it is difficult and stressful not to know in which country I will be living in a few months. You would like to settle down in one place.
"If one day my home club Liverpool would tell me I could stay and get my caps that would be great, but now I’m at Schalke and I want the team to achieve our goal of staying up. After the end of the season, I will be back in Liverpool to talk about the near future."
Shurandy Sambo, who played for Sparta Rotterdam last season, has been called up as Van den Berg's replacement.
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