Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has provided an update on the fitness of star man Virgil van Dijk, claiming that the club are still unsure if he will be ready to face Chelsea this weekend.
The Netherlands international limped out of their 3-0 win over former club Southampton with a rib injury, and subsequently missed their Carabao Cup loss to the Blues in midweek.
Klopp has now provided an update on the 27-year-old’s fitness, revealing that he is yet to train with the team since his injury, and is therefore not sure if he will be fit to face Chelsea.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of their Premier League clash on Saturday, Klopp said, as quoted by Echo journalist James Pearce on Twitter: “We have to wait, he didn’t train with the team so far.”
Klopp on Van Dijk: “We have to wait, he didn’t train with the team so far.”
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) September 28, 2018
OPINION
This is a significant update from Klopp on Liverpool’s star defender, and at the moment it does not look like van Dijk will be fit to face the Blues on Saturday. While Klopp has still left the door open for him to come back into the team, it would be a huge risk for him to play having not trained yet. The match is tomorrow, and that would mean van Dijk would be ushered into action with no training this week. The risk of him suffering an aggravation of the problem is also big, and Liverpool will surely not want to let that happen. The good form of Joel Matip recently should mean that the Reds have enough to secure a win over Chelsea, although van Dijk is obviously the superior option. It will certainly be interesting to see whether van Dijk does play on Saturday, despite it looking unlikely at this point in time.
