PSV will play the Europa League match against FC Zurich in the Philips Stadium on Thursday evening. PSV won the first game by force majeure 5-1. In the press conference, trainer Ruud van Nistelrooij looked ahead with the meeting and the injuries that plague the club.
“I saw the moment coming with Saibari. I immediately saw that it was wrong. Yorbe looked less fierce, it turned out to be the case. We have to take a good look at whether we could have prevented this within PSV. This appeared to not be the case. Injuries are part of football, especially with the programs that are put together by UEFA and FIFA. As a club you have to deal with that”, Van Nistelrooij explains.
“You see it happening around you, but you have to do everything you can internally to prevent it. After all, football is a contact sport. These are two young boys, and Saibari certainly plays everything from Jong PSV. It is especially sour for him that he ends the half of the season like this,” says Van Nistelrooij, who does let it be known that the player who plays for Morocco does not yet have to finish the World Cup.
Return
On the other hand, there was also good news to report. Luuk de Jong, Noni Madueke and Mauro Júnior showed themselves again on the training field on Wednesday morning.
“Luuk is doing well. He can join team training and that is the beginning of team training. He started this week and we will continue to do so. We check for each match moment whether he can join. This game comes too early, but Luuk is fit, a professional, and there are plenty of games to play in the near future, so it can go fast.”
But Madueke and Mauro are also making good progress, says Van Nistelrooij. “The three go together, one has been away longer than the other, but all three are back in team training, one completely, the other partially. They are going to take steps towards match minutes as quickly as possible.”
Zurich
FC Zurich, however, is still too early for the trio. Van Nistelrooij also thinks that PSV can expect a different evening than the first leg that was easily won. “I certainly think so. You usually don’t see that 0-5 in a Europa League match, that’s special. Tomorrow will certainly be different.”
“A new trainer has been appointed, we have to see how that goes. How they play, how they show themselves on the field to us. We will have to see that.”
Changes in rush hour
Finally, Van Nistelrooij discussed the many changes in the striker position since Luuk de Jong’s injury. “That doesn’t make it any easier for us, of course. And Luuk dropped out in a period when Vertessen was also limited, while Vinícius also left. It requires adaptability.”
“The striker is a key position but luckily we have smart guys who can handle that. You have to play Vertessen in a different way than De Jong, El Ghazi is another type. You have to use each other’s strengths as much as possible and hide weaknesses as much as possible. But to practice that, you train together.”
