Rafa Benitez yesterday admitted he attempted to stop the round the world trip – deeming it wholly unncessary. Kuyt actually went on international duty carrying a slight injury – picked up against Chelsea.
Rafa said:
“We tried to talk with the Dutch Federation about Dirk and Ryan having to travel so far but they have the right to call the players up for these games.
“We know Lucas, Mascherano and Insua will not be back until Friday afternoon and we will have to manage them carefully.
“We tried to find some kind of solution but it was impossible and it is not an ideal situation for them to travel to Australia for a friendly.
Rafa is already sweating on the fitness of Fernando Torres who is with Spain, and an injury concern over Daniel Agger – who despite only having one reserve game under his belt since returning from back surgery has gone on international duty. He was forced to sit out a day of training.