Van Gaal has decided against taking a risk with a player who has been suffering with tendinitis in recent weeks. The absence of the 26-year-old means only eight members of the 30-man squad featured at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, when the Netherlands lost to Spain in the final.
Goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg and defenders John Heitinga and Joris Mathijsen are also missing but Wesley Sneijder is there, despite Van Gaal recently expressing doubts as to the condition of the Galatasaray play-maker.
