Van Gaal calms RVP fears

Holland coach Louis van Gaal played down concerns over the fitness of Robin van Persie after the Manchester United striker was replaced at half-time during the World Cup qualifying victory over Hungary.

Van Persie was forced out of the 4-1 win in Budapest after suffering a knock to his thigh, with Klaas Jan Huntelaar brought on in his place, but the Oranje boss insisted he was merely erring on the side of caution.

"We took off Robin for precautionary measures," Van Gaal told the SBS6 television channel. "It doesn't seem to be too serious, but you never know. We didn't want to take any risks."

Van Persie's injury scare came after the Dutch had already lost Arjen Robben to a groin strain in the warm-up, with the Bayern Munich winger's misfortune allowing Jeremain Lens into the starting XI - who went on to score twice.