Dirk Kuyt eager to make Europa League return to former club
Liverpool forward, Dirk Kuyt, has revealed that he is aiming for a return to action by the end of the month.
On September 30, the Reds will visit his former club Utrecht in the UEFA Europa League. Kuyt has said that he hopes he will be fit for the game after sustaining a shoulder injury while training with the Holland squad for a UEFA 2012 European Football Championship qualifying match against Finland this week.
The 30-year-old attacker has been given an estimated return date of early October, but he told Liverpool’s website that he is determined to beat the doctors’ predictions and feature against the club he played with for five years from 1998. Kuyt said that, "I hope I will make it (for Utrecht). It all depends on how the injury heals in the first few days."
Awkward fall in training
The player suffered the injury when he had an awkward fall in training on Monday and damaged his A-C joint.
Kuyt will miss crunch matches against Birmingham City, Manchester United and Sunderland in the English Premier League, as well as a clash with Northhampton in the third round of the Carling Cup and Liverpool’s first Europa League group stage match against Steaua Bucharest at home.
His injury came as a blow for Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson as the versatile Kuyt — who can play either as a winger or as a striker — has been in strong form for both club and country. He scored a penalty in Holland’s 5-0 thumping of San Marino in their first Euro 2012 qualifying match on Friday.
Kuyt has also made a significant contribution to Liverpool’s Europa League campaign after he scored in their 2-1 play-off win away to Trabzonspor to help seal the club’s passage to the group stage of the competition.
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