Liverpool centre back Virgil van Dijk has vowed he is ready for the challenges he will face over the next few months as he battles to return from the knee injury he picked up against Everton.
A horror challenge from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford forced Van Dijk off the field early in the first half of Saturday's 2-2 draw, and Liverpool have since confirmed the injury will need surgery to fix.
While there is no official word of just how long Van Dijk will be sidelined, early speculation has suggested somewhere close to six or seven months.
"[On Sunday] I met with a leading consultant to start the process of planning the finer details of my rehabilitation following the incident [on Saturday]," Van Dijk said in a post on Twitter. "I'm now fully focused on my recovery and will do everything I can to be back as soon as possible.
"Despite the obvious disappointment, I'm a firm believer that within difficulty lies opportunity, and with God's help I'm going to make sure I return better, fitter and stronger than ever before.
"In football, as in life, I think everything happens for a reason and it's important to try and keep level-headed whether going through the highs and lows. With the support of my wife, kids, family and everyone at Liverpool, I'm ready for the challenge ahead.
"I'd like to thank everyone for the messages of support, it's meant a huge amount to me and my family, and I'll now be doing everything possible to support my team-mates in any way I can ahead of a big few weeks ahead as I take my own recovery day by day. I'll be back."
This will obviously come as an enormous blow to Liverpool's title defence, but it will also give manager Jürgen Klopp a real headache when it comes to picking his team in the Dutchman's absence.
Dejan Lovren was sold in the summer, leaving only Joe Gomez and Joël Matip as recognised centre backs in the squad.
Midfielder Fabinho could be asked to drop back into defence, while there could also be call-ups for academy players Nat Phillips, Billy Koumetio or Sepp van den Berg.
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Source: 90min
