All White Pijnaker in race to be fit for World Cup after dislocating shoulder

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pijnaker-nando/S4rLGEO7/"]Pijnaker[/a] was expected to be among ‌the centre backs named in coach ‌Darren Bazeley's World Cup squad for the June 11 to July 19 finals in ‌the U.S., Canada and Mexico.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/auckland-fc/2J7jacL6/"]Auckland ⁠FC[/a] confirmed Pijnaker's ‌injury on Tuesday but said in a ​statement that the Netherlands-born 27-year-old would seek further opinion from a ​specialist.[/p][p]Dislocated shoulders can take up to 16 weeks to heal. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-zealand/rLctHkpU/"]New Zealand[/a] open ⁠their World ​Cup campaign against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/iran/xrRx85iA/"]Iran[/a] on June 15.[/p][embed guid="3258f1b1-08c8-40e0-a3a0-fb83849ece81" url="https://x.com/fc_auckland/status/2042838874578391542" social-type="twitter" /][p]Pijnaker joins injured New Zealand defenders [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/boxall-michael/f9lQiP3d/"]Michael Boxall[/a], Tommy Smith, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cacace-liberato/4SWMMcZd/"]Liberato Cacace[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/de-vries-francis/pbGUl5vN/"]Francis ‌de Vries[/a] on the sidelines, while midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/singh-sarpreet/6N9LXYZH/"]Sarpreet Singh[/a] is also nursing a knee problem.[/p][p]There was also better news for Bazeley over the weekend as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wood-chris/Cp7L7Gro/"]Chris Wood[/a], New Zealand's captain and top goal-scorer, played his first match in nearly six months in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nottingham/UsushcZr/"]Nottingham Forest[/a]'s ‌1-1 Premier League draw with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/aston-villa/W00wmLO0/"]Aston ​Villa[/a] after recovering from knee surgery.[/p][p]New ‌Zealand will also play Egypt and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/belgium/GbB957na/"]Belgium[/a] in the World Cup's group stage as the All Whites return to the tournament for the first ⁠time since [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/south-africa/W2ijYvlr/"]⁠South Africa[/a] 2010.[/p]