Van Persie allays knee injury fears

Robin van Persie has rubbished claims his career is in jeopardy due to a knee injury suffered on international duty with Netherlands.

Fenerbahce striker Van Persie was recalled to the international squad by coach Dick Advocaat for the first time in two years for the latest round of matches.

But the 34-year-old limped out of last Thursday’s 4-0 defeat to France in Saint-Denis and some reports suggested the ex-Manchester United and Arsenal star had suffered a torn cruciate ligament.

The speculation led Van Persie to post a statement on Twitter clarifying his condition, with the prognosis apparently a matter of weeks on the sidelines rather than months.

“I would like to make this brief statement with the intention to rectify news spread concerning myself,” he said.

pic.twitter.com/QWRJpMxKxr

— Robin van Persie (@Persie_Official) September 5, 2017

“I regret that any statements about my injury have been made without my consent and approval.

“At this moment, I have a minor knee injury which has an average recovery time of three weeks.

“This is the conclusion of several knee specialists that come highly recommended, based on the scans, clinical tests and the fact that I could resume the match after the moment the injury happened.”

Van Persie is Netherlands’ all-time record goalscorer with 50 and has netted 25 times in 57 Turkish Super Lig games since joining Fenerbahce from United in 2015.