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Netherlands head coach Louis van Gaal insisted his “brain still works” following a bike accident left him temporarily in a wheelchair.
Van Gaal suffered a hip injury after falling off his bicycle on Sunday and oversaw Monday’s training session from a golf buggy ahead of the Netherlands’ crucial World Cup qualifier against Norway.
The Netherlands require at least a draw from their Group G decider on Tuesday to clinch a berth at Qatar 2022.
Van Gaal, who will be able to coach his nation when the Netherlands and Norway clash in Rotterdam, was keen to stress his brain remains intact following the incident.
“Physically, I’m bad. But my brain still works,” former Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss Van Gaal told reporters via video link.
Asked if it hurt a lot, Van Gaal replied: “Yes, a lot. That’s why I’m in a wheelchair. That’s why I led the training session from my buggy.
“Look, it’s the lesser trochanter, that’s a bone, and that’s broken. And the iliopsoas, that’s a muscle, is attached to that. That’s a stabilising muscle. I hope you can all understand what I’m saying.
“I had to learn about every single bone in the human body when I used to study for gymnastics teacher. That comes in handy now.”
“I can do everything, because my brain works. There are things I can use, such as that buggy and my wheelchair. I look stupid, I know that too,” the 70-year-old added. “But coaching is verbal, and you use your brain to do so. And the presentation has to convince the squad.”
Netherlands star Virgil van Dijk added: “It’s just sad and unfortunate for him. He now has to recover the next weeks.
“It’s a physical thing, luckily it’s not mental. He is still focused on reaching the World Cup, like we all are.”
The Netherlands missed the chance to seal qualification for the 2022 World Cup as Montenegro produced a late comeback to snatch a 2-2 draw on Saturday.
Memphis Depay had Group G leaders the Netherlands on track before Montenegro overturned the two-goal deficit.
The Netherlands will now look to clinch against a Norway side missing injured superstar Erling Haaland.
Van Gaal acknowledged Haaland’s absence changes the dynamic of the fixture.
“Haaland has the quality to always show up behind a defence,” Van Gaal said. “He also did so in their home game against us, three of four times. That were also their only chances.
“Now, they’ll have to find another solution. At least, that’s what they’ll be trying to do. But Haaland has specific qualities that they’ll miss now. We can, in principal, play a bit further from our own goal now too.”
