VAN WITH A PLAN
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.
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