Remarkable Reason for Ruud van Nistelrooy's Absence in World Cup Preparations

National coach Ronald Koeman announced at a press conference last week that he had long been aware of his assistant's temporary absence and reassured the public. The 'family circumstances' he mentioned were joyful and positive, unrelated to anything serious. Nevertheless, no one within the Dutch national team was willing to disclose the precise reason.

It turns out Van Nistelrooy missed the initial days with the national squad due to an early celebration of his fiftieth birthday, as reported by De Telegraaf. The former prolific striker for clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid will turn fifty on July 1st, which falls during the World Cup (should the Netherlands still be in the tournament). He was therefore granted permission to celebrate this significant milestone ahead of time.

According to the newspaper, he celebrated his birthday on Saturday, June 6th, in a private setting at 'Bistro Tante Pietje' in Den Bosch. It's noteworthy that Van Nistelrooy received Koeman's permission to be absent during this crucial period leading up to the World Cup. Previously, Quinten Timber was strictly forbidden from traveling to Budapest to attend the Champions League final, where his brother and fellow international Jurriën Timber was playing for Arsenal.

Koeman deemed the two situations 'incomparable' when asked why one received permission and the other did not. The squad will be complete again for the closed-door friendly against Uzbekistan on Monday, June 8th, or so it seemed... Jurriën Timber was reported as a definitive withdrawal from the World Cup just before the match. The defender is apparently not fit enough and will be replaced by Lutsharel Geertruida.

The Netherlands will play their first World Cup match against Japan on June 14th, followed by group stage encounters with Sweden and Tunisia.