Women's World Cup: Martens will not train to spare sore foot ahead of semifinal

Martens was hurt celebrating her winning goal in the second round against Japan last Tuesday and didn't train ahead of the quarterfinal against Italy.

Published : Jun 30, 2019 22:51 IST , Lyon (France)

Lieke Martens in action for Netherlands against Italy in the Women's World Cup quarterfinal.
Lieke Martens in action for Netherlands against Italy in the Women's World Cup quarterfinal.
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Lieke Martens in action for Netherlands against Italy in the Women's World Cup quarterfinal.

Netherlands striker Lieke Martens is not likely to do much training ahead of Wednesday's Women's World Cup semifinal against Sweden as she protects a foot injury.

The problem should not stop her from playing as the Dutch seeks to reach a first-ever final, however.

Martens was hurt celebrating her winning goal in the second round against Japan last Tuesday and did not train ahead of the quarterfinal against Italy in Valenciennes on Saturday.

Despite that, she managed to play a full match as the Dutch beat the Italians 2-0 to advance to the last four.

"When you are fuelled by adrenaline you can do a lot," Martens said of playing through pain after team mate Jill Roord jumped on her when they were celebrating success over the Japanese in the second round.

Read: Swiss women's international Florijana Ismaili missing in swimming accident

"As we head towards Wednesday, it's going to be very much the same as it was before the Italy game for me," the 26-year-old told reporters.

After the game against Japan, the pain was so bad that she could hardly walk and her participation in Saturdays quarter-final was doubtful right to the last minute.

"It was a rollercoaster -- maybe, no, maybe, yes -- but I always believed I would play. I know what my body can do.

"We have great medical staff who did everything they could and I managed to play a full 90 minutes.

"The pain is still there and I have had another reaction but if I was able to play on Saturday, I can play again on Wednesday," added the player named best women's footballer by FIFA two years ago when the Dutch won the European Championship.

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