The injury-prone forward was forced out of the action against Hungary on Tuesday night at the interval and replaced by Ruud van Nistelrooy to leave Gunners boss Arsene Wenger sweating over his fitness.
Van Persie was left in a heap on the turf following a challenge from Vilmos Vanczak shortly before the break and did not emerge for the second half of the Euro 2012 qualifier.
The Emirates Stadium forward had opened the scoring for the Dutch in their Group E clash as the home side went on to secure a thrilling 5-3 success, with Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt bagging a late brace.
But it is the fitness of Van Persie which will be of most concern for all those associated with the North London club, who are battling with Manchester United for the Premier League crown.
Painful
Wenger’s men have crashed out of three competitions in recent weeks and now have the top-flight crown as their only hope of silverware this season.
They can ill-afford to lose the striking services of Van Persie at such a crucial stage and the Gunners will be anxiously awaiting a medical update from the Netherlands.
Head coach Bert van Marwijk was unable to shed too much light on the injury but admitted that he had no option but to take the forward out of the action.
Van Marwijk said: “It didn’t look very serious but it was too painful for him to carry on as he was hit by a knee just above his own knee.”
