Sneijder to miss Holland friendlies

Amsterdam, May 27: Veteran midfielder Wesley Sneijder withdrew from the Netherlands squad due to a rib injury, the Dutch football association KNVB announced on Friday. The 31-year-old Dutch intertiol suffered the injury in the Turkish Cup Fil between his club Galatasaray and Fenerbahce (1-0 win for Galatasaray) on Thursday, in which he only played the first half. He was supposed to join the Dutch team on Saturday. The Netherlands coach Danny Blind did not call up a replacement for Sneijder. The group now consists of 23 players, after the earlier withdrawals of Bart Ramselaar (injury), Jurgen Locadia (injury) and Davy Propper (about to get a child), and the addition of Steven Berghuis. The Netherlands, which did not qualify for Euro 2016, will play friendlies against Ireland on Friday in Dublin, against Poland on June 1 in Gdansk and against Austria on June 4 in Vien. IANS