Injured Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has sent his teammates a message of encouragement ahead of their European Championship opener against Ukraine.
The Dutch are playing in their first major tournament since the 2014 World Cup but Van Dijk is missing it while recovering from a right knee injury he sustained in October while playing for Liverpool.
He wrote on Twitter “Good luck boys... Believe, enjoy and savour every moment. Stick together at all times, like we always do!”
Georginio Wijnaldum will serve as captain at Euro 2020. He says Van Dijk is still influential in the team despite his injury.
Wijnaldum says “he knows how important he is for us.”
Netherlands' Georginio Wijnaldum, left, and Georgia's Giorgi Aburjania vie for the ball during the friendly soccer match between The Netherlands and Georgia, in the run-up to the Euro2020 soccer tournament, in Enschede, eastern Netherlands, Sunday, June 6, 2021.
Photo: AP