Virgil van Dijk was sent back to Liverpool after the Netherlands’ 3-0 victory over Germany at the weekend.
The injuries have really piled up for Liverpool over the course of the international break, with four key players all reportedly suffering setbacks.
Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Naby Keita will have to be assessed ahead of Saturday’s game with Huddersfield.
Another on that list is Virgil van Dijk – the Netherlands captain was sent back to Liverpool after the 3-0 win over Germany thanks to a rib problem he’d sustained against Southampton a few weeks ago.
The fact that Van Dijk played despite the severe injury will obviously draw questions from Liverpool fans as to why that was allowed to happen, and Ronald Koeman has been happy to explain the situation.
“Virgil has played with two broken ribs in the last weeks,” Koeman told the Independent.
“He wanted to play against Germany but you have to give the club something back now.
“He’s back to Liverpool and he’s ready to play for next week. He takes a rest. He spoke to the manager [Jurgen Klopp].
“The medical staff of the Dutch national team spoke to the medical staff of Liverpool and made the decision that he was playing only the Germany game and then after back to Liverpool.”
Liverpool apparently gave their blessing for Van Dijk to play, something that would suggest no serious problem.
Koeman was prepared to add: “He is ready to play next weekend”, just in case Liverpool fans had further doubts with the situation.
And so it appears that despite the broken ribs, there isn’t too much to worry about when it comes to Liverpool’s star defender.
Instead, it’s simply Van Dijk continuing to look endlessly impressive.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
