Georginio Wijnaldum is very disappointed with Virgil van Dijk’s serious injury. The central defender of Liverpool fell out on Saturday during the derby against Everton (2-2) in the initial phase after a charge from Jordan Pickford and has to recover for at least six months. “The way Pickford came in is ordinary stupid“, the midfielder said at a press conference prior to the Champions League match against Ajax on Wednesday evening.

“I understand he had no intention of hurting Virgil badly. But if you come in like that, you know it could end like this. But he just didn’t care what the consequences would be after the tackle,” said Wijnaldum, who indicates that Everton is playing way too hard against the arch-rival. “It often happens when we play against Everton. Their players go way too far. Yes, it is a derby and you can sometimes go over the edge. But this makes no sense. We are devastated. Everyone gets bad from it. slept. It’s hard to accept. “

“Not only Pickford went too far, also Richairlison with Thiago. That was also mean. We cannot accept this”, says Wijnaldum, who in conversation with The Telegraph further talks about Van Dijk’s situation. “He is a leader, on and off the field. Strangely enough you could see that leader very well recently when we played with the Netherlands in an empty stadium against Poland. The cameras and microphones registered everything he did and especially said during the match. Virgil is always coaching. “

The first match of Liverpool without Van Dijk in the coming period is the confrontation with Ajax in the Champions League. Wijnaldum is looking forward to the duel with the team from Amsterdam. The Orange International is disappointed that no audience is allowed to be present because of the corona pandemic. “My own family and friends can’t be there either. But hey, we haven’t been able to play football for a while after the spring. We are already happy that we can play.”