Oranje's injured starting keeper Verbruggen trains separately as World Cup camp starts

First-choice goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen trained separately from the main Oranje squad during the team's first training session in Kansas City on Wednesday. After picking up an injury during Monday’s friendly against Uzbekistan, he briefly stepped onto the pitch on Wednesday before returning indoors for an individual rehabilitation session with a physiotherapist. There is still optimism within the camp that he will recover in time to be available for the FIFA World Cup.

Verbruggen made a brief appearance on the pitch shortly before training at the KC Current Training Facility, where he greeted fans before returning indoors with a physiotherapist for treatment. With Verbruggen absent from group training, only Mark Flekken and Robin Roefs took part in the session as goalkeepers.

Verbruggen sustained the injury following a heavy collision during last Monday’s friendly against Uzbekistan. He landed awkwardly after the break and was forced to leave the pitch in the 70th minute after being substituted.

Oranje started its first training session in Kansas City to loud applause from around 1,500 spectators. The team is based in the city during the group stage of the FIFA World Cup. Most of those present were American fans who gathered at the KC Current training complex, home of the women’s professional side Kansas City Current, to watch the session.

Many young fans brought homemade signs requesting shirts from Virgil van Dijk, who remains the most popular player among the crowd. Supporters, mainly Americans, were also seen wearing his number 4 jersey.

One attendee, John, visited the training session with his son Kevin. “We’re naturally supporting our own national team,” he said, “but we also support the Netherlands, especially because of the great fans you have.”

Kevin, who lives in Kansas City, is already looking ahead to 26 June, when Netherlands national football team will play its final group match against Tunisia national football team in his city. “I’ve seen the videos,” he said. “Of course I’ll be at the fan parade. I want to move from left to right,” he added, referencing the song by Snollebollekes. “Trust me, it’s going to be crowded at that parade.”

A spokesperson for the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) confirmed that the 1,500 spectators present had purchased tickets. Fans tried to cope with the conditions by applying sunscreen and taking shelter under umbrellas they brought along.

Temperatures in Kansas City reached around 30 degrees, with humidity pushing the perceived heat even higher. Only occasional gusts of wind provided brief moments of relief before the heat returned. Meanwhile, Oranje trained in black shirts as part of their effort to acclimatise quickly to the hot and humid conditions.

Fans were entertained as the Netherlands national football team players split into four teams for a game of footvolley during training. The session also attracted a large number of international journalists.

Lutsharel Geertruida has joined the training camp and went straight onto the pitch after arriving. He was called up on Monday as an emergency replacement for the injured Jurriën Timber, who is sidelined with a groin injury.

A spokesperson for the KNVB said that 120 journalists had signed up for the post-training press conference featuring head coach Ronald Koeman and Van Dijk.