<p>AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Netherlands defender Daley Blind expects to miss the remainder of the club season because of an ankle injury but said Thursday he hopes to be fit for the European Championship.</p>
<p>Blind was hurt during the second half of his country’s 7-0 win over Gibraltar in a World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday.</p>
<p>“I assume that my season at Ajax is over,” Blind said in a statement by his Dutch club. “I will have an operation next week. If everything goes well during rehabilitation, I hope that I can still make it to the Euros this summer.”</p>
<p>Blind said he has torn ligaments in his left ankle.</p>
<p>Ajax leads the Dutch league by 11 points and will play Vitesse Arnhem in the Dutch Cup final on April 18.</p>
<p>Ajax also has reached the quarterfinals of the Europa League, where it will play Roma. The first leg is next week.</p>
<p>“Of course I am terribly disappointed,” Blind said. “You play football to win trophies and those trophies will be won in the coming months.</p>
<p>“Of course, I wanted to be there. It has been a wonderful season with Ajax so far. That now ends very abruptly for me.”</p>
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