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Liverpool face the possibility of being without Virgil Van Dijk for several months after it was confirmed that their key defense requires knee surgery, but they are reluctant to rule him out for the season.
The news of the 29-year-old’s ACL injury, sustained in a controversial challenge from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in a 2-2 draw in Saturday’s Merseyside derby, is the scene of a nightmare for the Reds.
“After the surgery, Van Dijk will start a rehabilitation program with the club’s medical team so that he can be in top shape as soon as possible,” said a club statement.
Van Dijk then issued a statement of his own in which he vowed to return stronger than ever.
“This afternoon I met with a lead consultant to begin the process of planning the finer details of my rehabilitation after yesterday’s incident,” he posted on Twitter.
“Now I am fully focused on my recovery and will do my best to be back as quickly as possible.
“Despite the obvious disappointment, I firmly believe that within the hardships lies the opportunity and, with God’s help, I will make sure to return better, fitter and stronger than ever.
“In football, as in life, I believe that everything happens for a reason and it is important to try to stay calm, whether you are going through the good times or the bad. With the support of my wife, my children, my family and everyone at Liverpool, “I am ready for the challenge ahead.
“I would like to thank everyone for the messages of support, it has meant a great deal to me and my family, and now I will do my best to support my teammates in whatever way I can ahead of a few weeks ahead. while taking my own recovery day by day. I will be back. ”
– Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk) October 18, 2020
The injury not only robs them of one of their most influential players for most of the Premier League title defense, it also leaves Liverpool with just two senior center-backs in Joel Matip, who has been plagued with nagging injuries himself. himself, and Joe. Gomez.
Jurgen Klopp chose not to replace Dejan Lovren when he left for Zenit St. Petersburg in the summer and was content to gamble on using midfielder Fabinho as cover.
The damage suffered in his clash with Pickford, for which the Everton goalkeeper escaped punishment because VAR official David Coote missed the tackle after missing the Dutch captain’s offside in preparation, makes Van Dijk needed to be operated.
However, club sources are unwilling to cancel his season for the time being, considering the player’s excellent physical record, and are hopeful that he will still be able to participate in the campaign at some point.
That leaves Klopp with an immediate headache when faced with having to field the untested pair of Matip, whose Merseyside derby comeback was his first appearance since opening day, and Gomez, who fell over the weekend. after a recent irregular shape.
Nat Phillips, 23, with just one FA Cup appearance to his name on either side of two loan stints at Stuttgart last season, is now the backup option, with Billy, 17, highly qualified but not tried. Koumetio another alternative.
Liverpool’s defense has already been affected this season, conceding 13 goals in five games, including seven at Aston Villa, with Van Dijk in the last four, so his absence for a period of time would raise real questions about his chances of keep your distance in a title race.
Klopp, however, was eager to back Gomez after a shaky couple of weeks.
“The set piece (for Everton’s first) was unfortunate because Virgil was not on the field, we fixed it in the game but it was the first corner when he was not on the field,” he said.
“Joe Gomez played a great game, a good game. I don’t care about the boys.
“The problem we have at the moment is that I am not really in a good mood, I have injured players in the dressing room and that is not good.”
The news about midfielder Thiago Alcantara, who also underwent a scan for a knee problem suffered in the inning that saw Richarlison sent off at the end, is a bit more promising.
Liverpool have to wait for the injury to be resolved, but are optimistic it is not serious, although their £ 20m summer transfer from Bayern Munich is unlikely to come out this week against Ajax.
The club has submitted a request to the Premier League requesting a review of the decisions of the Merseyside derby VAR.
They have asked why Pickford’s challenge to Van Dijk was not considered for a red card only because the Dutchman had been called offside for a replay and also for an explanation about the mechanics that saw Sadio Mane offside in the preparation for what would have been a Jordan Henderson winner in added time.
Liverpool is also understood to be concerned about the confusing and contradictory messages emanating from the Premier League.
While not questioning the integrity of the officials, the club believes more transparency about how and why the results were determined is crucial for the integrity of the game for all and the safety of the players.
Contradictory accounts of events are understood to have left Liverpool officials deeply concerned.
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