Medical expert drops upbeat Van Dijk verdict after Liverpool twist – ‘I’m actually expecting…’
Virgil van Dijk’s involvement in the World Cup with the Netherlands had no part to play in his latest hamstring injury at 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.
Van Dijk was taken off by Jurgen Klopp at half-time during Liverpool’s 3-1 loss to Brentford on Monday evening after struggling with an apparent hamstring injury.
Klopp said after the full-time whistle that “it’s not an injury, he just felt the intensity” but it was reported by the BBC on Wednesday (4 January) that Van Dijk’s injury is far worse than initially feared.
The Dutch defender is set to see a specialist over the issue.
Van Dijk has played in every Premier League fixture this season for the Reds and also played a crucial part in the Netherlands’ World Cup campaign in Qatar.
But Dinnery refused to point towards Van Dijk’s role in the World Cup as a factor behind his latest injury.
“I certainly don’t see it as any kind of sort of World Cup fatigue, certainly not,” Dinnery told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“Not in terms of the physicality and the output from the World Cup.
“If you would typically compare those who were involved out in Qatar to where they would ordinarily be on a typical Premier League programme then these guys would have less cumulative load within their bodies, so they should actually be fairly refreshed.
“Overall it was a strange night for Liverpool against Brentford.
“I think a few players on that pitch would have preferred to have not been there.
“Van Dijk is an integral part of that back line and with the game at half-time, Jurgen Klopp might have already thought the game had gotten too far away from him and made the decision through caution.
“It’s difficult to say how the injury came about, but I certainly don’t put it down to any fatigue-related exertions due to his involvement at the World Cup.
“I’m actually expecting those players who played throughout the World Cup to be able to handle this period of the Premier League better than their counterparts who had heavily disrupted programmes.“
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