Brian Riemer delivered a worrying update on Kasper Dolberg on Tuesday. The Ajax striker's knee was "completely gone" last week, the Denmark manager was quoted as saying by, among others, Tipsbladet.
Dolberg had been called up again by Denmark after a year away. But a knee injury threw a spanner in the works, leaving the Ajax player unable to feature for his country during this international break.
Speaking during a media session at a hotel in Helsingør, Riemer addressed Dolberg's injury. "I can say that we have never experienced anything like this before. It's all happening at quite a rate. 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 may be, this is simply dramatic. And nothing else."
Tipsbladet did, however, add a caveat after the Denmark manager's press conference. "The manager's statement about Kasper Dolberg should not be taken entirely literally. But it does sound very worrying."
That newspaper has also been in contact with Ajax about Dolberg's injury. "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 in a text message.
So far, Dolberg has played 56 times for Denmark and scored 12 goals in the national team shirt.
At club level, the 28-year-old striker has made nine appearances for the Amsterdam club this season under new coach Míchel. He has scored three times and also provided three assists.