There are very few silver linings in football, but there was one for Virgil van Dijk. Rest.
Given Liverpool‘s extensive injury problems this season, it was only a matter of time before the center-back suffered an injury, despite playing the most minutes of any player between July 2021 and October 2022.
He then played in the Netherlands’ World Cup quarter-finals before returning for Liverpool’s next three league games.
In that third game, the first of 2023, it caught up with him.
The hamstring injury Van Dijk picked up in the 3-1 defeat at Brentford, forcing him to be substituted at half-time, came a day after the defender had marked five years at the club.
Van Dijk has been imperious and unstoppable when available, cementing his place as one of the game’s best central defenders in recent years.
2020, only to suffer an anterior cruciate ligament injury as a result of a challenge from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. He was out until the following summer, and his team missed him.
Liverpool’s struggles this season have even begun to affect Van Dijk and his performances, with the defender admitting that he had fallen short of his usual individual standards while also contributing to the team’s malaise.
He has played in a defensive unit that has struggled, although the protection in front of him has been non-existent at times.
The Dutchman came off the bench as Liverpool won the Merseyside derby.
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