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Virgil van Dijk is highly unlikely to play for Liverpool again this season.
The 28-year-old Dutch defender will undergo surgery after sustaining a serious knee injury during last week’s 2-2 draw with Everton.
Van Dijk, who had not missed a minute of a Premier League match since September 2018, before being substituted in the Merseyside derby, will now undergo surgery to repair his damaged ACL.
Several Liverpool players have spoken of their discontent at the challenge from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, which led to Van Dijk’s injury.
Gini Wijnaldum, Van Dijk’s international teammate, called Pickford “stupid.”
There have been plenty of behind-the-scenes aftermath as well, with Liverpool contacting the Premier League after the clash at Goodison Park, requesting a review of VAR usage throughout the game.
(Image: LAURENCE GRIFFITHS / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
Now, as Liverpool seek to retain their Premier League title and regain the Champions League, they face going the entire season without their defensive rock.
The Netherlands faces the prospect of rescheduling the European Championships next summer without their captain.
Mirror Football details the latest situation surrounding Van Dijk and what follows …
What did Jurgen Klopp say on Friday?
Klopp confirmed that Liverpool are not setting a timetable for their recovery.
Virgil was here, okay. But about when the surgery will happen and things like this, I don’t think it makes sense for us to give it a schedule pretty much every day.
“But it will be fine and it will happen at the appropriate time. So that’s it, it’s the best it can be. “
On the time frame, Klopp added: “To be honest, we don’t even want to know. It will take time, that is clear.
“In the end, it’s really like this: all people are different and that’s why we shouldn’t limit that by saying ‘for him it was so long, for him it was so long.’
“I think it makes sense from a specific moment of recovery, in the time of rehabilitation, that it becomes individual because then everyone faces it differently and with each body. That’s why [there is] there is no need. “
(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
How long will Van Dijk fail?
Until you have undergone surgery, it is difficult to establish a time scale, especially since, as Klopp says, each person’s rehabilitation is different; some bodies adapt and recover naturally better than others.
His Liverpool teammate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered a cruciate ligament injury in 2018 and was missing just under 10 months.
However, others have come back faster, notably Newcastle’s Florian Lejeune, who came back from an ACL tear in just 140 days in 2018.
Perhaps the most famous of all is that Roberto Baggio returned after only 77 days in 2002, at the age of 34, despite the fact that his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus were torn.
Baggio said La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I remember the hard work. I was in the gym for up to 10 hours a day. I remember the pain I went through.
“I had many teammates around me, much younger footballers, all in rehab after similar surgeries. A couple of hours and the slightest pain was enough to stop them.”
It’s part of the reason Liverpool don’t want to put a timescale on things, but why public claims have been rejected as well.
Has Van Dijk said anything yet?
The Dutchman took to social media last weekend with a written statement.
He stated: “I am now fully focused on my recovery and will do my best to be back as quickly as possible,” the defender wrote in a statement that was shared on social media.
“Despite the obvious disappointment, I firmly believe that within the hardships lies the opportunity and with God’s help I will make sure I return better, fitter and stronger than ever.”
He added: “In football, as in life, I believe that everything happens for a reason and it is important to try to keep your sanity, whether in the highs or the lows.
“With the support of my wife, my children, my family and everyone in Liverpool, I am ready for the challenge that lies ahead.”
(Image: POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
What is Liverpool’s next step?
Just go on without it. They did just that in the Champions League in the middle of the week, beating Ajax 1-0.
Fabinho teamed up with Joe Gomez at the heart of the defense, and it looks like the Brazilian midfielder will be tasked with playing on the baseline even more than expected this season.
Joel Matip is another option, as is young defender Rhys Williams, who seems to have jumped on Nathaniel Phillips in the pecking order.
But such was the level of Fabinho’s impressive display in Amsterdam, that he and Gomez could be the number one couple in the future.
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It has been an extremely interesting start to the season for Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Their title defense got off to a shaky start when they beat a seven-goal thriller against Leeds, before going to seven conceded in a beating of Aston Villa.
Virgil van Dijk’s season ended with injury in a 2-2 draw at Everton, leaving the title favorites much less secure in the back, especially with Alisson’s concern about injury.
But there is no slowdown in what will be a busy season, with Klopp making sure his men keep up with him as they battle for more titles.
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But doesn’t that mean they have to replace Fabinho?
Fortunately, Liverpool have a plethora of central midfield options capable of operating in the ex-Monaco’s best position at the base of midfield.
Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum are all proficient in the safety role, while James Milner has done so previously as well.
If Klopp continues the 4-3-3 formation that has brought them so much success, they can also count on Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones in that central zone.
There is also the option to switch to 4-2-3-1, given his attacking options, which could allow someone like Xherdan Shaqiri, Takumi Minamino or Diogo Jota more minutes in conjunction with Mo Salah’s first-choice attack. Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
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