• Liverpool player attacks Italy for 'the way they kicked us'
• Arsenal's Van Persie facing six weeks of rehabilitation
The Holland striker Dirk Kuyt has accused Italy of a lack of respect as the row over Robin van Persie's ankle injury continues.
The Arsenal forward, who has been in fine form this season with eight goals in all competitions, has been ruled out for around six weeks after a robust challenge from the Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during the teams' friendly meeting on Saturday.
Van Persie has since absolved Chiellini of any blame in the incident, but the Liverpool forward Kuyt today launched an angry assessment of the Azzurri's tough-tackling approach to the match.
"I was very disappointed," Kuyt told Sky Sports. "We played a friendly against a big country and if you see the way they kicked us it's very sad, very sad for the Dutch team and also very sad for Robin because he was in great form.
"I think it was a bad tackle. Sometimes you think about this when you play a friendly for your country â€" there should be more respect for each other. Hopefully it won't happen in the future."
The Dutch defender Johnny Heitinga, who joined Kuyt and Van Persie in the Premier League when signing for Everton earlier this year, also expressed sympathy for his stricken international team-mate.
"It's hard for a team, but harder for him as he has been playing well for the last couple of months and he was one of the best players in the Premier League," said Heitinga. "I hope for him he recovers soon."
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