Virgil van Dijk was clearly in pain after his ankle felt the wrath of a crunching tackle in Holland’s 6-1 win over Turkey.
Virgil van Dijk has eased Liverpool fears that his ankle injury could be serious after he went to ground in stoppage time of Holland’s 6-1 win over Turkey in Amsterdam. The defender was sent up in the air following a strong tackle after he attempted to receive an under-hit, casual pass from his goalkeeper Justin Bijlow. Turkey would score following the mess at the back but Cengiz Under’s consolation meant precocious little as the Netherlands romped to victory in their latest World Cup qualifier. The incident would have meant a great deal to Liverpool though, who were left concerned by pictures of Van Dijk wincing in pain on the floor.
He clearly felt the wrath of the strong tackle, in which he did not appear to fully commit.
Thankfully for Jurgen Klopp, his talisman Van Dijk has already made it clear the problem is nothing more than an impact injury. I’m fine, luckily. I’m already over it,” he said with a smile.
“Maybe because I am so big, they think I am acting,” he added.
When asked what he meant by the remark, Van Dijk clarified: “Because when I go down, it goes in quite a slow way.”
Van Dijk captained the side and partnered Inter Milan’s Stefan de Vrij at the heart of the Netherlands defence.
Manager Louis van Gaal will have been frustrated with the way his side threw away their clean sheet so carelessly with just seconds to play.
The 30-year-old has only just made his comeback following nine months on the sidelines after he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the 2-2 draw at Everton last October.
He was forced to sit out of the Euros where Holland were beaten by the Czech Republic in the last 16.