Blind out for season with injury, hopes to play at Euro 2020

Posted April 01, 2021 7:00 am

The Associated Press

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Netherlands defender Daley Blind expects to miss the remainder of the club season because of an ankle injury but said Thursday he hopes to be fit for the European Championship.

Blind was hurt during the second half of his country's 7-0 win over Gibraltar in a World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday.

'œI assume that my season at Ajax is over,'ť Blind said in a statement by his Dutch club. 'œI will have an operation next week. If everything goes well during rehabilitation, I hope that I can still make it to the Euros this summer.'ť

Blind said he has torn ligaments in his left ankle.

Ajax leads the Dutch league by 11 points and will play Vitesse Arnhem in the Dutch Cup final on April 18.

Ajax also has reached the quarterfinals of the Europa League, where it will play Roma. The first leg is next week.

'œOf course I am terribly disappointed,'ť Blind said. 'œYou play football to win trophies and those trophies will be won in the coming months.

'œOf course, I wanted to be there. It has been a wonderful season with Ajax so far. That now ends very abruptly for me.'ť

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Netherlands' Daley Blind, left challenges for the ball with Latvia's Roberts Uldrikis during the World Cup 2022 group G qualifying soccer match between The Netherlands and Latvia at the Johan Cruyff ArenA in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Saturday, March 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Categories
Content Providers MLS Pro Sports Soccer Sports Sports Leagues Sports Types

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.