Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
VAN WITH A PLAN ‘Milner still best in English game’
Kop ace Virgil on target to return for title run-in as Dutch FA say defender will now definitely play at Euros
VIRGIL VAN DIJK is now on track to make his Liverpool comeback during the title run-in.
The brilliant £75million defender has made huge strides in his recovery and is targeting an April return from the cruciate ligament injury that was expected to sideline him for the season.
That’s great news for Jurgen Klopp.
The medical staff at the Dutch Football Federation have assured Holland boss Frank de Boer that his skipper will also be part of his bid for Euro glory in the summer.
Van Dijk is working seven days a week as he steps up his recuperation under his own team of physiotherapy experts.
Most of his rehabilitation has taken place at Abu Dhabi’s NAS Sports Complex in Nad Al Sheba. Every aspect of his fitness programme has to be ratified by Liverpool’s own medical staff first.
Van Dijk has been able to take his first strides on the training pitch, undergoing running exercises and simple ball work.
Klopp is desperate for the 29-year-old to return.
Since Van Dijk was injured by a tackle from Everton keeper Jordan Pickford in the Mersey derby in October, Liverpool have been a shadow of the team that romped to the club’s first title success in 30 years.
Joe Gomez is unlikely to return until next season after suffering a serious knee injury on England duty.
Both Joel Matip and Fabinho are also injured – leaving
Klopp with another selection headache ahead of today’s trip to West Ham.
Fabinho is expected to be back for next
Sunday’s huge clash with
Manchester
City.
Klopp will now be striving to keep his team in touch with all the other title hopefuls in the next few months in the hope Van Dijk will be back for the final weeks of the season to help the bid for back-to-back crowns and hopefully in the Champions League too. Liverpool have already made it clear to Holland that Van Dijk will NOT feature at the Euros if he doesn’t play for his club before the end of the campaign.
De Boer is planning for his games against Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia with the Kop colossus at the heart of his defence. Under FIFA rules, a club cannot prevent a player from representing their country even if it’s their first game back after a long injury.
But Dutch FA bosses are aware they would face Liverpool demands for compensation if Van Dijk was crocked at the Euros without first proving his fitness in a red shirt.
Van Dijk has stayed in contact with his Holland pal Lyon’s Memphis Depay.
The former Old Trafford winger himself suffered serious cruciate ligament damage in December 2019.
But he was back in action before the end of the season and would have played in the Euros last summer if the pandemic had not postponed the event for 12 months.
WEST HAM
Last five in PL: DWWWW Top PL scorer: Soucek (7)
Last five in PL: DLDLW Top PL scorer: Salah (13)
LIKELY TEAMS WEST HAM: Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals, Antonio LIVERPOOL:
LIVERPOOL legend Terry McDermott has dubbed James Milner “the best player in English football in the last 15 years”.
It is some accolade for the 35-year-old Milner, who usually leaves the headlines to others while he quietly gets on with whatever job on the football field he is tasked with.
His versatility is a manager’s dream, as are his endurance levels, even as the clock ticks on a long career.
Today at West Ham the Kop hero will surely recall being the shy Leeds lad making a debut for his hometown club at Upton Park at the age of 16 years and 309 days, coming on for Jason Wilcox.
Now aged 35 and 27 days, the same ambition and commitment remains, as illustrated by the way Milner shone in
Thursday’s 3-1 win at
Tottenham, which placed
Liverpool’s Premier League season back on track.
McDermott (above) said: “He was unbelievable against Spurs.
Not that anyone should be surprised – for me he’s been the best player in English football for the last 15 years.
“Ask him to play anywhere and he will. Not only that, he will play as well if not better than whoever he has replaced. He’s that good. ” McDermott, as a
Newcastle coach, witnessed the young Milner at close quarters when the midfielder joined from Leeds in 2004. “You could see straight away the player he was going to develop into,” added McDermott.
“You couldn’t get him off the training ground. Long after everyone else had finished he would be practising freekicks, corners and even throw-ins.
“He was obsessed with being as good a player as he possibly could be. He was just brilliant to have around.
“To think he is still playing at an exceptional level 18 years after making his debut is incredible.
“What’s even more astounding is you can’t see any dropping off in the standards he has always set himself.”
And McDermott reckons Liverpool will still be pinching themselves that Milner joined from Manchester City on a free transfer in June 2015. “When you talk about value for money he has to be right up there,” said McDermott.
“He has been so instrumental in Liverpool’s success. “Wherever he has been, and that includes Newcastle, he has been regarded as one of the best players, if not the best.
“I would have loved him in the Liverpool sides I played in.”
Milner’s longevity in a successful career has been impressive