Virgil van Dijk Left Out of Liverpool's Premier League Squad Following ACL Injury

21 October 2020 12:12

Virgil van Dijk has been left out of Liverpool's 2020/21 Premier League squad, amid fears that he will miss the rest of the season through injury.

The Dutchman recently underwent surgery after being on the receiving end of a horror tackle from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the Merseyside derby. It has since been revealed that the Liverpool defender has suffered an ACL injury, which is likely to rule him out for the remainder of the campaign.

Pickford has been criticised for this reckless challenge | Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Due to this, the 29-year-old has not been included in the Reds' 25 man Premier League squad. However, he can be registered in January if the club believe he will recover in time to feature before the end of the season. Van Dijk is also likely to miss Liverpool's Champions League campaign which kicks off against Ajax on Wednesday night.

He is not the only absentee that Jurgen Klopp will have to deal with either. Summer arrival Thiago Alcantara will sit out, while Joel Matip, Alisson Becker, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are also unavailable.

Despite this, Klopp responded strongly when one journalist questioned whether the reigning Premier League champions had a chance against Ajax.

Klopp heled a passionate pre-match press conference on Tuesday | Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

"We are here without Virgil van Dijk AND Joel Matip! We will still give it a try," the German said (via the Mirror).

"What can we do now? People can say what they want, it is a free world. But three weeks ago, they said we would run away (with the league). Now, three weeks later, we are not even in contention for anything anymore. That’s football. That’s the world right now. We cannot be that excited. We have to stay calm. That’s what we try. We will."

He added: "Everybody is having fun and, look, it’s the Champions League tomorrow night! Hey! Look at how Liverpool will do this or that! We will give it a proper try, I promise you. No excuses for nothing."


Source: 90min