Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk could be set to miss the remainder of this Premier League season after injuring his ACL on Saturday.
The Dutchman appeared to suffer a nasty hyperextension of his right knee after a poor challenge from Everton goalie Jordan Pickford in the first half of the Merseyside Derby.
The Liverpool star, who is considered to be one of the world’s best defenders, appeared in obvious discomfort and had to be replaced by Joe Gomez.
Van Dijk was sent to a nearby hospital for scans to determine the extent of the injury and, per the beIn Sports broadcast, the player has injured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee – and this could rule him out of action for up to eight months.
Should this diagnosis be accurate, it would mean that van Dijk would be unlikely to feature for the Reds this season and could also put his participation in next summer’s European Championships in jeopardy.
The injury to van Dijk will be frustrating for Liverpool as they weren’t even given a penalty for Pickford’s foul, as replays showed that the defender was offside in the build-up to the incident – nor was Pickford even given a warning.
Liverpool face further fears after Thiago Alcantara also complained of a knee injury after a hefty challenge which led to Everton’s Richarlison being sent off.
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The midfielder finished the match but was also sent to hospital for scans. But there is no information regarding the extent of the player’s injury just yet.
The loss of van Dijk will prove difficult to digest for Liverpool fans. He was ever-present in the last two seasons for Liverpool and even placed second in the 2019 Ballon d’Or.
