The injury bug continues to hit the European Championships, with Lieke Martens ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with a foot injury.
Martens suffered the injury during the Netherlands’ 4-1 win over Switzerland on Sunday.
The Dutch national team confirmed the injury Tuesday, stating that she will not be available for the remainder of the tournament. They declined to state the nature of the injury, and Martens will leave the team’s training camp on Tuesday. Given the stage of the tournament, the team is unable to call up a replacement.
“This is terrible news for Lieke and for us,” Netherlands boss Mark Parsons said. “She has fully committed herself to the team during this tournament. It is very unfortunate that her European Championship has to end like this.”
It’s Martens’ second injury this season, having missed four weeks at the end of Barcelona’s 2021-22 Champions League campaign. She missed both of the team’s semifinal wins against Wolfsburg with a hamstring injury.
Martens is set to depart Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain next season.
The Netherlands, meanwhile, is set to take on France in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Lieke Martens is heading to Paris Saint-Germain, with the club signing the Dutch forward to a three-year deal from Barcelona.
The 29-year-old announced the move on social media Friday, writing, “I am very excited to announce this news about the next step in my career! So happy and proud to start this new adventure in Paris and to be part of this incredible team and club.”
Friday’s news comes after the star striker wrote a heartfelt goodbye to Barcelona on her Instagram Thursday, revealing her departure from the Spanish club.
“After five beautiful years at this fantastic club in this beautiful city I have decided to part ways with the club and start a new adventure. I came to FC Barcelona in a time that the club started an ambitious project to become a leader in the world of women’s football. We worked hard and I believe that we achieved the goals set 5 years ago,” wrote Martens. “It’s time for another adventure and I want to thank the club, coaches, staff, fans and of course all my teammates that have supported me to become the player I am today. Thank you for all your support and love, all the best and see you all soon again.”
In her five-year tenure with Barcelona, Martens logged 156 appearances, scoring 73 goals to help the club to a Champions League trophy and nine domestic titles.
PSG finished second in the French league this season, 15 points behind rivals Lyon.
After a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal, PSG and Barcelona both knew it all came down to Sunday’s match-up.
With a spot in the final on the line, both teams came out swinging.
It was Barcelona who struck first, though, with Lieke Martens putting away a gorgeous curled ball in the 8th minute to put her team up 1-0.
The Dutch winger added her name to the scoresheet again in the 31st minute, tapping in a well-placed cross from teammate Caroline Graham Hansen.
BOOM! & BOOM!
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 2, 2021
💥💥 @liekemartens1 first half brace in the second leg of the @UWCL semis. @FCBfemeni pic.twitter.com/29h9R58JY4
Less than five minutes later, PSG responded with a goal of their own. Marie-Antoinette Katoto punched in a loose ball off a PSG corner, cutting Barcelona’s lead in half.
K A T O T O 🔥pic.twitter.com/yMJSLcCs2D
— Diaspora United (@DiasporaUtdPod) May 2, 2021
PSG stayed competitive in the second half but failed to create any meaningful goalscoring opportunities to even the score with Barcelona.
With PSG at bay, Barcelona hung on to their narrow 2-1 lead, securing their place in the Champions League Final.
Barcelona will face off against Chelsea for the title on May 16.