[ad_1]
Liverpool center-back Virgil van Dijk is in need of surgery for a knee ligament injury sustained in a 2-2 draw at Everton on Saturday.
The 29-year-old Dutch defender was unable to continue after a rash challenge from Toffees goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the first half.
It is unclear how long he will be out with the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
He underwent a scan before a specialist confirmed the extent of the damage.
Returning to action after ACL surgery can take many months and Liverpool will not specify how long the Dutchman will be out until after his operation.
The surgery will not be immediate and the operation has not yet been arranged.
Club sources are reluctant to rule out a return to action this season, as much will depend on his rehabilitation.
Van Dijk has been a key figure for Liverpool since signing with them in January 2018 for £ 75 million.
He has played every league game for the club in the last two seasons, as Liverpool finished second in 2018-19 before winning their first top flight title in 30 years in 2019-20.
The Dutchman was also a prominent figure for the team, having won the Champions League in 2019 and the Club World Cup later that year.
He had played seven times for the Reds this season before the Merseyside derby.
‘It will hamper Liverpool’s title defense’
Van Dijk’s absence will leave coach Jurgen Klopp with Joe Gomez and Joel Matip as his main centers, as well as inexperienced Nathaniel Phillips, Rhys Williams and Sepp van den Berg.
Gomez and Matip have never started a game together as Liverpool center-backs. Before Saturday’s Merseyside derby, the last time they both played in that position in any part of a match was in the final hour of their 4-1 loss to Tottenham in October 2017 at Wembley.
Midfielder Fabinho replaced the center-back in the win against Chelsea earlier this season.
“We won’t know until the end of the season how much of an impact it will have on the Liverpool team. There will be a sense of togetherness. It will definitely hamper their title defense,” former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock told the BBC. Radio 5 live.
“It’s that old cliché: ‘We’re going to win for Virgil and make sure we have something to celebrate at the end of the season.’
“But when you’re in the locker room, you look the other way and you don’t have Virgil van Dijk, this great player colossus. Defensively, when things go well and you turn around and see Van Dijk, that’s fine. Now you give. turn around and he’s not there.
“He is not disrespectful to the players who are there, but he is their number one center-back, someone who has performed at such a high level since he joined the soccer club.”
In addition to Liverpool, the Netherlands will keep their fingers crossed and will be in a position to participate in the postponed Euro 2020, which will now be held from June 11 to July 11, 2021.
Analysis
Simon Stone from BBC Sport
This is really terrible news for Liverpool.
The Premier League champions may not be putting a timetable on Virgil van Dijk’s likely absence, but in the short term, they really don’t have to.
Few players have returned from cruciate ligament surgery in six months, and depending on the exact extent of the damage, it could be longer.
Even a six-month absence would keep Van Dijk out until the end of April. Sure enough, it means that Jurgen Klopp will have to dispense with his defensive talisman and 2019 PFA Player of the Year for the remainder of the season.
It will extend Liverpool’s defensive resources, and Matip and Gomez have a big job ahead of them in a season in which the physical demands will be like no other given the reduced amount of time the season is played.
The news will further frustrate Liverpool as Everton goalkeeper Pickford escaped punishment for the terrible tackle that caused the damage. Liverpool didn’t even get a free kick.
