Virgil van Dijk’s injury resulted in him being substituted for Liverpool on Monday to what was thought at the time to be a minor one. The Reds were 2-0 against Brentford at half time and it was briefly thought that manager Jürgen Klopp had victimized the Dutchman. This appeared to not be the case.
Liverpool eventually lost 3-1 and started 2023 in a very bad way. In addition to Van Dijk, Harvey Elliott and Kostas Tsimikas also went to the side. Naby Keita, Andy Robertson and Joel Matip came in line. Van Dijk did not miss a minute this season before Monday.
Judging by the reviews, Van Dijk could not escape this malaise. “He didn’t look comfortable,” concluded the Liverpool Echo at the 5. The Evening Standard also came to that figure. “Was knocked down a few times on the vulnerable left, but it was still a huge surprise to be substituted at half-time.”
In the eyes of Gary Neville, action by Bryan Mbuemo; who surprised Van Dijk in the eighteenth minute which was significant. “That was a sobering moment for Van Dijk,” said the Sky Sports analyst. “Undoubtedly the change at halftime even more.”
Klopp’s hope
Klopp said afterwards that Van Dijk was slightly injured. “He had some hamstring pain,” the German told beIN Sports. “He said he felt fine, but I made it clear to him that we are not taking any chances. The medical staff was happy with that.”
The Liverpool manager allayed further concerns, “I don’t think it’s a serious injury. We made the other two substitutions because we wanted to see fresh legs and other qualities in the second half.”
However, in the latest updates, Liverpool cannot have Virgil van Dijk for the time being, various media in England report. The defender had to stop the fight against Brentford on Monday after the first half and appears to have suffered a hamstring injury.
The injury is worse than initially thought. Trainer Jürgen Klopp said after the game that Van Dijk had ‘a bit of trouble’ with his hamstring.
