MADRID (AFP) - Real Madrid said Arjen Robben
will be unavailable for Thursday's Spanish Cup match against
Mallorca due to a muscle strain, the latest injury to the club's
costliest pre-season signing.
The Dutch midfielder has now suffered four injuries and failed to
make an impression since joining the club from Chelsea for 36
million euros (52 million US dollars) on a five-year
contract.
The 23-year-old has made only five starts since joining Real
Madrid, two of them in the league, the newspaper El Mundo noted on
its website.
It said Robben, who gets paid around 10 million euros a year, has
thus lived up to his reputation of being as fragile "as
glass".
El Mundo said his fraility contrasted with the robustness of
countryman and clubmate Ruud Van Nistelrooy, 31, who on Wednesday
extended his contract for two years to 2010.
Coach Bernd Schuster said last month that Robben was suffering from
"anxiety" resulting from his desire to prove himself.
