Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has stated that former Arsenal defender and current Roma defender Thomas Vermaelen lacks playing time.
He was speaking after the match that saw his team face Greece in the World Cup qualifiers.
He said that the player seems to be physically and mentally well and that he is giving his best on the pitch. However, he admitted that the player clearly lacks playing time and this should get better once he gets his place back in the Roma team.
Roberto Martinez said that so far he has been happy with the professionalism displayed by Thomas Vermaelen and he believes that the player will get stronger as he continues to recover.
Thomas Vermaelen has suffered countless injuries since his move to Barcelona and has failed to recover his form that saw him being rated as one of the best defenders in Europe. He has since then moved to Roma where again his career has been plagued with injuries.
The defender said that he is strong mentally and that he is happy to be part of the Belgium team. He believes that training hard and getting enough playing time he will recover his form and allow him to get a place back in the team.
He said that Belgium has a competitive group with some world class players and it is up to them to deliver the goods. This is one of the best team in Belgium history, and it is up to them to ensure that they can push for a trophy.
At the moment he wants to focus on his training with his club and help the national team qualify for the world cup. He believes that the team has a great chance to make it to Russia and it is important that they seize this opportunity.
