Virgil van Dijk posted a video on social media last week, showing that he was already running on the training field. The images generated enthusiastic reactions and speculation about whether the 29-year-old center-back would be available again before the end of the season. Jürgen Klopp tempered that enthusiasm and says that nothing has changed in Van Dijk’s rehabilitation.
“That’s all good: imagine if he couldn’t have run at the moment. That had been very bad. They can run right now. Your rehab starts with running in a straight line. I don’t know if you Virg in a straight line, so maybe there is a lot more to come. You go through a lot of steps until you are finally ready to train with the group again, especially if you have been injured for a long time ”, the Liverpool Echo from the mouth of Klopp.
“There are still a lot of steps to be taken and those guys are sitting down that will take a while,” the Liverpool manager continues. Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Jordan Henderson are also currently recovering from injuries. “It means no one said to me, ‘Fasten your seatbelt, get ready yourself, those guys will train again next week. Actually nothing has changed, even though they are on the right track. ”
Van Dijk sustained a cruciate ligament injury during the away game against Everton (2-2) in mid-October, after a gross charge from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. It normally takes six to nine months to recover from such an injury. Klopp already announced in March that it is unlikely that Van Dijk will play this season. Shortly before, national coach Frank de Boer had expressed his hopes about the employability of Van Dijk during the European Championship next summer.
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