Virgil van Dijk was noticeably absent from a preseason doubleheader against Athletic Club on Monday, but the Dutch defender is not expected to miss significant time following Arne Slot’s squad update.
Prior to the game, Slot gave an update on four key players missing the games: Alisson, Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley and Van Dijk. “Unfortunately, Virgil is sick today,” Slot said.
“We miss out on Alisson. Joe Gomez is not there, Conor Bradley is not there. But until now we have stayed fit as we wanted to be and new signings came in so they got adjusted to what we want. Looking forward first of all to today and then to the next weeks.”
A relief for Liverpool fans given how important Van Dijk is to a Premier League title defense and challenging on all fronts. The illness is not believed to be severe given Slot expects Van Dijk back for the FA Community Shiled curtain raiser against Crystal Palace and Liverpool’s league opener against Bournemouth.
Alisson is also expected back in time for competitive games, though the manager stressed a timeline crunch for Bradley and Gomez. “It’s going to be tight.”
Liverpool defeated Athletic Club with a rotated side featuring youngsters like Rio Ngumoha in the first game. The Reds put four past their La Liga visitors before going on to start a more experienced side featuring summer signings like Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Virgil Van Dijk Isn’t Playing in Both Athletic Club Preseason Friendlies.