AZ Alkmaar teenager Calvin Stengs could be out for the rest of the season after he suffered a gruesome injury on the opening day of the Eredivisie campaign.
The 18-year-old, who is highly-rated at AZ, could not have expected a tough start to his season after he twisted his knee 90 degrees in the wrong direction while battling for the ball in defence. Stengs immediately ended up in tears following the incident, and he was stretchered off to the hospital to check the severity of the injury.
The young winger wanted to impress in the first game of the campaign as he went across to make a tackle on one of the PSV Eindhoven players, but as he did so, his right knee also gave way. As a result, the Dutchman is likely to miss the rest of the campaign with AZ Alkmaar, who lost the game at PSV by a 3-2 scoreline.
Argentine legend Diego Maradona was spotted smoking a cigar in the stands during the game. The 56-year-old received a warm welcome from the fans at the Philips Stadion while being presented with a PSV jersey. Maradona is currently in a 20-day training camp in Holland with UAE side Fujairah as he prepares them for the new league season.
AZ had a relatively tough campaign in the Eredivisie last term as they finished sixth in the league standings with 49 points. Their top-scorer Vincent Janssen made the switch to Tottenham Hotspur last summer, and this reduced their goalscoring tally from 70 to just 56 last season. The Dutch outfit also have no European football to play for during the 2017/18 season after they lost their Europa League qualification playoff final against Utrecht last term. John van den Brom’s side will seek to open their points tally for the new season when they face off against ADO Den Haag at home on August 19th.