Netherlands winger Arjen Robben limps off in Dutch team’s 6-1 win over Hungary

Arjen Robben limps off in Netherlands’ 6-1 win

AMSTERDAM — Netherlands winger Arjen Robben limped off the field with a left hamstring injury Saturday in the team’s 6-1 rout of Hungary in a friendly, casting his World Cup participation into doubt and delaying his departure for South Africa.

Robben, who came on as a second-half substitute, scored two goals before leaving the game in the 85th minute. Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder, Mark van Bommel and Eljero Elia added the others.

The extent of Robben’s injury was not clear, but coach Bert Van Marwijk said he feared the worst.

“He felt a sharp pain, that can’t be good,” Van Marwijk said. “Treatment for these injuries has improved hugely, so I’m not giving up hope yet.”

The injury-prone Bayern Munich winger fell awkwardly after cutting inside from the right and trying to deliver a deft pass to the right with his left foot.

“I thought to myself, ‘This can’t be true,’” Van Marwijk said. “He made an unnatural movement and injured his hamstring.”

Van Marwijk said Robben would not fly with the Netherlands team to South Africa on Saturday night and would undergo scans on Sunday.

“You sometimes see that people with injuries like this are fit again in a few weeks,” the coach said. “I’m hoping for that.”

Van Persie said he hoped that Robben would be ready for the World Cup.

“I hope he’s OK, because he’s a very important player for us,” Van Persie said. “Everyone is down now.”

Balazs Dzudzsak had given Hungary the lead with a goal that exposed Dutch defensive weaknesses, but the Dutch midfield controlled the game after that.

After Dzudzsak had been given too much room by Giovanni van Bronckhorst to open the scoring in the sixth minute, Van Persie equalized in the 22nd with a low, left-footed shot after Dirk Kuyt stole the ball.

Despite Robben’s threat on the right, the Dutch went ahead with a goal from the left. Van Bronckhorst crossed for Sneijder to tap in from close range. Van Bronckhorst was the provider again in the 64th when his diagonal pass from the left was tapped in at the far post by Robben.

Robben scored his second with another curling shot in the 78th.

Elia scored the best Dutch goal of the match just a minute after coming on in the 73rd. The left winger beat three defenders and sent a shot through the legs of a fourth to make it 5-1 before Robben scored his second and then got injured.

“He made a strange movement that I don’t think was necessary,” Hungary coach Erwin Koeman said.

Dutch center back John Heitinga was substituted after about an hour and his ankle was immediately wrapped in ice.

The match was the Netherlands’ final warmup. They earlier beat Mexico 2-1 and Ghana 4-1 to extend their unbeaten run to a national-record 18 matches.

Hungary did not qualify for the World Cup.