Van Dongen replaces Van den Berg for Oranje
Monday, July 1, 2013
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Mandy van den Berg has been ruled out of UEFA Women's EURO 2013, "a huge setback" according to Netherlands coach Roger Reijners, who has called up Merel van Dongen.
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Netherlands coach Roger Reijners is reeling from "a huge setback" after Mandy van den Berg was ruled out of UEFA Women's EURO 2013 with a knee injury.
The Vittsjö GIK centre-back, capped 33 times, suffered a knock in Saturday's 3-1 friendly victory over Australia and an MRI on Monday revealed ligament damage. It means she will miss the tournament in Sweden and the Dutch have moved quickly to fill the void, calling up untested 20-year-old Merel van Dongen of Alabama Crimson Tide.
"This is obviously a huge setback," Reijners said of Van den Berg's absence. "First of all for Mandy herself; she has really being getting set for this tournament and was fully focussed on putting down a marker in Sweden. And also for the team: Mandy was an important factor. We have to go on. With Merel van Dongen as a replacement the group is complete again. Now we have to focus on the EURO opener against Germany."
