Liverpool star withdraws from international duty through injury | OneFootball

Liverpool have confirmed that midfielder Ryan Gravenberch was forced to withdraw from the Netherlands squad on Wednesday with a "fitness issue".

Gravenberch has been in superb form for the Reds under his compatriot Arne Slot this season, blossoming in a deeper defensive midfield role after Liverpool were snubbed by Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi in the summer.

The towering Dutchman has been so impressive Slot has not gone into a single Premier League game without him. Gravenberch has started 41 games across all competitions before adding the demands of international football.

Ronald Koeman called the 22-year-old up for the Netherlands' fixtures this month, but he will have to navigate a Nations League quarter-final double-header against Spain without Gravenberch.

Ryan Gravenberch has won 18 senior caps / ANP/GettyImages

As Liverpool confirmed in an official statement on Wednesday evening, the Dutch international pulled out with a vaguely defined "fitness issue". The club added that Gravenberch "will be assessed upon his return to Merseyside".

A statement from the Netherlands camp revealed Gravenberch is dealing with an injury he picked up in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle United, in which he left the field with 15 minutes remaining.

Liverpool have a free weekend while other clubs are involved in the FA Cup quarter-finals before returning to Premier League action with a Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield on Wednesday, 2 April.

Gravenberch's absence will be a significant loss for Koeman. The former Ajax starlet made his Dutch debut in 2021 as a prodigious 18-year-old. Yet, after enduring a tough adaptation to life at Bayern Munich before a stilted debut campaign with Liverpool, the long-limbed midfielder earned just one minute of competitive international football over the space of three years.

This term, however, Koeman has used Gravenberch in all six of Netherlands' fixtures alongside a rotating cast of other midfielders.