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Virgil Van Dijk (Getty Images)
From Liverpool The Premier League title defense was rocked on Sunday by the news Virgil Van Dijk He must undergo knee surgery amid reports that the Dutch defender could miss the rest of the season.
Van Dijk limped off after a shocking challenge from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in a 2-2 draw in the Merseyside derby on Saturday.
“The center back damaged knee ligaments following an incident involving Blues goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after six minutes at Goodison Park,” Liverpool said in a statement.
“Van Dijk was required to be substituted and further evaluation of the injury revealed that an operation will be necessary.
“There is no specific time scale for their return to action at this stage.”
Van Dijk has been instrumental in Liverpool’s resurgence under Jurgen Klopp since he made a world-record 75 million move for a Southampton defender in January 2018.
The 29-year-old has started every league game for the past two seasons, as the Reds won the Champions League in 2019 and ended a 30-year wait to win a league title earlier this year.
“Virgil played for us, I don’t know how many games in a row. He plays in pain, he plays almost everything, but he couldn’t keep playing. That’s not good,” Klopp said.
Before Van Dijk’s arrival, Klopp’s time at Anfield had been affected by defensive collapses.
Now the German must find a solution to the huge gap left in his defense without the possibility of diving into the transfer market with the window not open again until January.
There are parallels to the serious knee injury suffered by Manchester City center-back Aymeric Laporte early last season.
Without the Frenchman, City’s title defense imploded, paving the way for Liverpool to advance to the league by 18 points.
Van Dijk’s absence is compounded by the fact that goalkeeper Alisson Becker is also out with a shoulder injury.
Without the Brazilian in goal, Klopp’s men have conceded nine goals in their last two games, including a historic 7-2 humiliation like Aston Villa two weeks ago.
The loss of Van Dijk’s dominant aerial presence was obvious as Everton scored twice with a header to come back in a controversial derby at Goodison Park.
England international Pickford somehow escaped punishment for his dangerous lunge to Van Dijk’s knee when the two collided at the back post.
Liverpool has reportedly asked the Premier League for clarification on the use of VAR as not only was Pickford not ruled out, but Jordan Henderson’s latest winner was ruled out for a dubious offside against Sadio Mane in review.
Klopp was also unhappy with another reckless challenge from Everton that earned Richarlison a direct red card for taking out Thiago Alcantara.
The Spanish international has been able to complete the match, but has also been sent for scans to discover the extent of a knee injury.
“When I came off the field, Thiago told me in the red card situation with Richarlison that he thinks he got injured,” Klopp added.
“We’ll see if it’s true or not, but if he felt that way then we need to take a look at him.”
