The former AZ Alkmaar stopper has shrugged off concerns over his match fitness, and has insisted that he will be hundred percent fit before Netherlands’ Euro 2012 opening encounter.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bulgaria-c2861 in a friendly encounter on May 26.
The Malaga defender is still sidelined with the injury, which has casted doubts over his participation at Euro 2012 in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ukraine-c3032.
However, the 32-year-old has now insisted that he will return to complete match fitness before his side’s opening match against Denmark.
“The first test in the dressing room seemed to indicate that there was no evidence of a tear, only a strain, and the MRI scan happily confirmed that. The way I feel now, I will be fine”, Mathijsen was quoted as saying to the media.
The highly-rated central defender, who started his professional career at http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hamburger-SV-c39485.
The Dutch stopper failed to feature consistently for La Liga outfit in his debut season due to various injuries, featuring only in 28 league matches. The Spanish media heavily criticized the former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/AZ-c38571 Alkmaar, and suggested that
he is an injury-prone player.
Mathijsen slammed his critics, and revealed that he should not be labelled as an injury-prone player, as he never had a long-term injury since he started his career.
“It is typically Dutch, I think, that I suddenly seem to be labelled injury-prone. Apparently my age, in combination with two injuries, is a reason to doubt my fitness even though I have never had a long-term injury in my entire
career”, the talented centre-back concluded.
The veteran stopper, who has thus far donned the jersey of Netherlands in 79 games, will be hoping that he returns to action at the earliest, and play an important part in his side’s European campaign.
The Flying Dutchmen, who are drawn in the Group B along with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Portugal-c2984, will kick-off the Euro 2012 against the Danish Dynamite on June 9.
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