ROME, Aug 26 — Injured Netherlands midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum is unlikely to feature at this year’s World Cup after Roma general manager Tiago Pinto said today he would only return to the club in January.

The 31-year-old broke his leg in training with the Serie A outfit on Sunday and faces a race against time to feature at the tournament which begins on November 20 in Qatar.

The Dutch have not officially ruled him out of the tournament, which takes place in Qatar in November and December, but with an estimated recovery time of three months, it is highly unlikely that Wijnaldum will be ready.

Wijnaldum joined Roma earlier in August on a 12-month loan from Paris Saint-Germain and has played just 12 minutes for his new side.

"I think he will be our big January reinforcement,” Pinto told Roma’s website.

"We signed him for the whole season, but we’ll wait for him in January.

"It was unfortunate. In a week it looked like he had been here for a year,” Pinto added.

According to Italian media, Roma, PSG and the Netherlands decided against an operation for the 86-time capped former Liverpool playmaker.

The Netherlands face Group A matches against Senegal, Ecuador and hosts Qatar when the World Cup gets underway on November 20.

The Italian top-flight stops for the competition on the weekend of November 13 and resumes on January 4, 2023. — AFP