Donny van de Beek injury: Holland and Manchester United midfielder ruled out of Euro 2020

Van de Beek will not be replaced in Holland squad by Frank de Boer

Netherlands and Manchester United playmaker Donny van de Beek (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Donny van de Beek will miss the Netherlands’ Euro 2020 campaign after suffering a groin injury, to cap off a difficult season for the Manchester United playmaker.

The 24-year-old has withdrawn from the 26-man squad and will not be replaced by head coach Frank de Boer, despite the deadline remaining open until their first game against Ukraine on Sunday evening.

Van de Beek did not play in either of the Netherlands’ two warm-up games against Scotland and Georgia, with his last appearance coming in United’s 2-1 win at Wolves on the final day of the Premier League season.

The former Ajax attacking midfielder will have hoped to find form again at international level after a difficult first season at Old Trafford, with limited playing time under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Van de Beek made 36 apperances this season but only four league starts and was an unused substitute for United’s penalty shoot-out defeat against Villarreal in last month’s Europa League final.

The Netherlands international joined United from Ajax in a £40m deal last summer and his struggles to earn regular minutes led some in his home country to question his inclusion in De Boer’s squad.

De Boer admitted last week that Van de Beek had not played as much as he would like at United but insisted that he still has faith in the playmaker’s ability.

“I hear in training, he does well, so there is still the confidence there but of course you want to play regularly. You can’t play every game, but what he did this year was not what he had in mind," he said.

“I’m confident in the boy, I know him a little bit, I trained him in his youth, he’s a great character, he’s a cool boy, he knows what he wants. Even in the European Championship, you might see the real Donny van de Beek.”