Trevor Sinclair has made a claim that could and should worry Liverpool fans.
The Reds will be without star defender Virgil van Dijk for quite a long time.
Van Dijk was ruled out for the 2020-21 campaign on Monday after being the victim of a rash challenge by Jordan Pickford in Liverpool’s draw at Everton on Saturday.
The big Dutch centre-back has suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage and has been omitted from Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League squad, illustrating he won’t be seen for the rest of this season.
But Sinclair has told talkSPORT that the 29-year-old might not even come back the same player.
So much of Van Dijk’s game is based on speed and Sinclair believes that it’s inevitable for an injury on this scale to negatively affect his mobility.
He said: “This could be a lot longer for Virgil van Dijk to come back and I would doubt we’re going to see the same level when he comes back. It hurts me to say because I’m a huge fan of his. I think he’s conducted himself unbelievably well since coming to the Premier League. He comes across humble, potentially the best defender in the world.”
By virtue of the fact he placed second in the Ballon d’Or stakes last season behind Lionel Messi, we’re talking about the best defender in world football.
Whatever happens, Liverpool absolutely need to spend big on a replacement in January because even if Sinclair is wrong, and he is the same player he was, Klopp is still going to be without him for a long, long time.
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