Brian Riemer sent out an alarming message about Kasper Dolberg on Tuesday. The Denmark head coach said the Ajax striker's knee was "completely gone" last week, according to, among others, Tipsbladet.
After a year away, Dolberg had earned another call-up to the Danish national team. A knee injury, however, threw a spanner in the works, leaving the Ajax player unable to feature for his country during this international break.
Speaking during a media moment at a hotel in Helsingør, Riemer addressed Dolberg's injury. ''I can say that we have never experienced anything like this before. Things are going pretty hard. Since we arrived last Monday, we have already had to send five players home – one of whom (Dolberg, ed.) was even dealing with a wrecked knee. However optimistic I am, this is simply dramatic. And nothing else.''
After the Denmark head coach's press conference, Tipsbladet added a note of caution. ''The head coach's statement about Kasper Dolberg should not be taken entirely literally. But it does sound very alarming.''
Ajax were also approached by the newspaper about Dolberg's issue. ''We have nothing to add about Kasper's knee. As soon as he – and we – want to share information about his injury, we will do so on our website,'' press officer Miel Brinkhuis said by SMS.
So far, Dolberg has played 56 times for Denmark and scored 12 goals in the national team shirt.
Under new coach Míchel, the 28-year-old striker has made nine appearances for the Amsterdam club this season. He has scored three times and also provided three assists.