To say Liverpool have missed Virgil van Dijk this season would be an understatement.
Despite being defending Premier League champions, Liverpool are sixth in the table and it looks unlikely that they’ll even qualify for the Champions League.
And there can be no denying that their failure this season probably stems from a long-term knee injury to Van Dijk back in October.
The Netherlands centre-back was ruled out for the rest of the campaign following a challenge by Jordan Pickford in the Merseyside derby with Everton at Goodison Park.
To make matters worse, centre-back partner Joe Gomez also picked up a knee injury a couple of weeks later and Liverpool fans haven’t seen him since either.
Next season is massive for Jurgen Klopp’s side as they plot to reclaim their title, which Manchester City officially won on Tuesday night.
And Van Dijk has some very good news by revealing that he’ll be available for Liverpool’s pre-season campaign.
He told the club’s official website: “It looks like I am on schedule to definitely be in pre-season with the boys. I am aiming for that and it looks like it is going to happen.”
There’s another hidden piece of good news here.
Netherlands boss Frank de Boer said earlier in the year that Van Dijk would be playing at Euro 2020 if he was available.
It goes without saying that’s the last thing Liverpool need, so the fact that Van Dijk himself is aiming for a pre-season return indicates that he won’t be ready for the European Championships.
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