Virgil van Dijk is on course to make his international debut tonight - despite having to leave Holland's training base for the birth of his first daughter.

Van Dijk, 23, was called up as a replacement for the injured Ron Vlaar at the weekend, however he was unable to report for duty due to his girlfriend, Rike Nooitgedagt, going into labour.

The defender missed both of Guus Hiddink's training sessions on Monday and was absent for Holland's morning workout on Tuesday.

However, with a healthy baby daughter delivered, Van Dijk was able to join his teammates yesterday as they travelled to Bari for the glamour friendly against Antonio Conte's Italy.

A Holland debut would cap a whirlwind few days for Van Dijk. He was left out of Celtic's squad to face Dundee on Sunday as transfer speculation surrounded his future - with Arsenal among the clubs credited with a last minute interest in the highly-rated Dutchman.