Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is set to be out for over a month due to a muscle injury. The update was confirmed by manager Juergen Klopp on Friday. Netherlands captain Van Dijk was subbed out at halftime in the Reds’ 1-3 defeat against Brentford in the Premier League as part of a triple-change by Klopp.
Follow India vs Sri Lanka live scores and updates on SportsTiger app.
While talking before the FA Cup third-round fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Juergen Klopp talked about the shock he had after finding out the extent of Van Dijk’s injury. The German manager further confirmed that the Dutchman will be out for several months at least.
He said, "Virg was a surprise for us, obviously, a big blow. He didn’t feel a lot. I took him off, actually, with no risk. In the end, the diagnosis was pretty harsh, but we talk about weeks – more than a month. I hope it goes quick, but for now, he is not available.”
Further talking about the team depth, Klopp also expressed that Liverpool has two great central defenders covering for the loss caused by Virgil’s injury. He added, “That’s how it is. We have other centre halves, as long as that’s the case everything is OK for the team. But for Virg, it’s harsh. He played an incredible amount of games over the last years. [Now] we cannot use him on the pitch at least. Off the pitch, we will do that.”
Download SportsTiger app to follow all the latest sports news and updates
The 2022-23 season has been difficult for Liverpool as they are placed sixth in the Premier League table with 28 points from 17 games. After the Wolves, the Reds are set to play Premier League games against Brighton and Chelsea before the end of January. To kick off February, Liverpool will take on Wolves, Everton and Newcastle before their Champions League last-16 fixture against Real Madrid on February 21, where Van Dijk could be fit to play a part.
