Virgil van Dijk and Brian Brobbey ruled out of Netherlands Nations League matches

The Netherlands will be without captain Virgil van Dijk and striker Brian Brobbey for their final two Nations League group matches after both players withdrew from the squad because of fitness concerns.

The Dutch football association (KNVB) confirmed on Monday that neither player would be available.

Van Dijk played the full 90 minutes of Liverpool’s 3-1 Premier League win against Crystal Palace on Sunday. The 34-year-old defender has featured for every minute of Liverpool’s league campaign so far this season, but will now miss the Netherlands’ upcoming games.

He had been due to make his next international appearances after winning his 100th cap during the Netherlands’ 2-1 victory over Serbia in October.

Brobbey has also been ruled out, despite playing for Sunderland in their 1-0 victory over Chelsea on Sunday.

The striker has had an injury-disrupted Nations League campaign. He started the Netherlands’ 1-1 draw with Germany in September but was forced to leave the field after slightly more than 30 minutes.

He then missed the team’s subsequent matches against Serbia and Greece.

No replacements have been selected for Van Dijk or Brobbey, leaving head coach Ronald Koeman with a 23-man squad for the Netherlands’ final two fixtures in the group.

The Netherlands will host Greece in Amsterdam on Friday before travelling to Berlin to play Germany on Monday.

Koeman’s side will be aiming to end their Nations League group campaign strongly, but they will do so without two established members of the squad.