Zurich: Angry Bayern Munich accused the Netherlands of allowing Arjen Robben to play at the World Cup with an injury after announcing the striker would miss the first two months of the Bundesliga season on Tuesday.
Bayern said on their web site (www.fcbayern.t-home.de) that a routine pre-season exam had shown that Robben had a torn muscle in his left thigh, adding he had suffered the injury shortly before the World Cup.
Robben played throughout the World Cup campaign, helping the Dutch reach the final where they lost 1-0 to Spain after extra-time.
"This is a severe injury," club doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt told the club's web site (www.fcbayern.t-home.de).
"I find it irresponsible that this injury has not been precisely diagnosed and that they have let Arjen play."
Robben was quoted as saying: "It's a shock for me to get a diagnosis like this on my return. I'm very disappointed, this absence is bitter for me and for the time."
Club president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was also upset.
"Naturally, Bayern Munich are angry," he said. "Once again, we as a club must pay the bill after a player has been severely injured with his national team."
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, August 04, 2010, 11:07