If things go well then Virgil van Dijk could be considered in the starting XI of Liverpool’s opening fixture in the Premier League against Norwich City on August 14. Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp sounded confident about the centre back’s recovery from a serious injury that had cast doubts over his career.
The 30-year-old Van Dijk had to undergo a knee surgery after he suffered an injury in the Premier League match against Everton in October. The Dutch international has been out of action ever since.
Van Dijk is still some time away from resuming full training but Klopp said he looks good in the basic training during the pre-season camp.
Van Dijk, Joe Gomez (knee), Joel Matip (ankle) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (thigh) are all working on their fitness and took part in Liverpool’s pre-season training in Salzburg, Austria.
“All four look really good, I have to say,” Klopp told the club website
“Virg and Joe will not have double sessions now for the first few days with the team … I don’t know exactly when we can make the next steps but it will happen in the next four weeks, for sure – we will get a big step forward.
Klopp, who helped Liverpool win the title in 2019-20 season, said Joel looks the closest from resuming normal training.
“Joel looks good, absolutely, he is the closest probably to normal training… Trent was a serious enough injury but now not a major one, I would say. He is close but in the moment, probably the next five or six days he has a special programme.”
(With Reuters inputs)
