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LIverpool’s worst fears came true after they confirmed the devastating news that Virgil van Dijk suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage.
Van Dijk suffered the injury after a terrible challenge from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford during Saturday’s Merseyside derby.
Although Liverpool would not categorically rule out the Dutch international for the remainder of the season, it is unlikely that he will play again.
Van Dijk’s third-degree tear, which was revealed during a scan on Saturday night, will require surgery to be corrected, but Liverpool do not have a date for when the operation will take place. For that reason, they will not put a deadline on their recovery program.
What is clear, however, is that Liverpool will be even poorer for not having Van Dijk, whose performances since signing in January 2018 have been a key reason they have won the Champions League and Premier League. in recent seasons.
Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, has yet to speak about the blow of losing the 2019 PFA Player of the Year and will only do so on Monday night at the press conference to watch the first match of the Champions League of his team against Ajax in Amsterdam.
There is certainly a lot of anger within the Liverpool team over the nature of Pickford’s knee-high challenge as it was so high and late.
The Everton goalkeeper is understood to have tried to contact Van Dijk, but has not yet spoken directly to him.
Pickford spoke to Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson at Goodison Park immediately after the game to convey his apologies, but whether they have been accepted is another matter and the 26-year-old may still receive a retrospective charge from the FA.
Michael Oliver, the official for Saturday’s game, did not have a clear view of the incident, while David Coote, who was VAR for the game, which ended 2-2, decided not to recommend that Oliver go to the field side monitor for a second glance. the challenge.
Liverpool were so outraged by Coote, who also ruled out what would have been a Henderson injury time winner, that they have demanded a full explanation of how he made the decisions around Pickford and judging Sadio Mane to be offside.
Carlo Ancelotti, the Everton coach, defended Pickford’s erratic performance, but when speaking about Sky on Saturday, Graeme Souness did not hold back in expressing his opinions on what he thought about the incident.
Souness said: ‘It’s outrageous. For me, it’s: wow. These people, who make these decisions, who look at that and talk about offside, I just don’t get it.
‘I’ve been to Stockley Park, it’s almost impossible to make a mistake. And they are still wrong. That was an assault. Not a tackle, an assault.
Thiago Alcantara, the Liverpool midfielder, also underwent a knee scan on Saturday. He was injured after a tackle that led to Richarlison’s expulsion, but it was not serious.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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