Injury expert: Virgil van Dijk could face months out as Liverpool update ‘sends alarm bells ringing’
Virgil van Dijk’s meeting with a specialist over the hamstring injury he suffered against Brentford is a major red flag for Liverpool.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
The Independent reported last Wednesday (4 January) that Van Dijk was set to see a specialist for his hamstring after he was substituted at half-time against Brentford last week.
Liverpool suffered a 3-1 defeat to the Bees, and Jurgen Klopp swapped Van Dijk for Joel Matip at the break amid fears over the Dutchman’s thigh.
Klopp labelled the substitution precautionary in his post-match interview, but it’s now become clear that Van Dijk’s injury is worse than initially feared.
Dinnery believes the requirement of a second opinion on Van Dijk’s injury is enough to send alarm bells ringing over his recovery timeline.
“Even Virgil himself at the time felt it was more a precaution for his hamstring,” Dinnery told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“But post-match evaluations revealed the extent of the issues and showed it’s worse than first feared.
“Once you talk about involving specialists and going away for second opinions, that sends alarm bells ringing.
“So we’re looking at weeks, but if we’re talking high grade three then there’s a possibility of surgery which would lead to months on the sidelines.
“So, it’s not great, but it’s an area of the pitch where Jurgen Klopp does have cover.
“It just goes to show that you can’t always tell the severity of an injury in the immediate aftermath of playing.“
In other news, Liverpool are ‘looking at’ a Van Dijk replacement as pundit highlights ‘big problem’