There is “no problem” surrounding Virgil van Dijk after a clash to the head left a nasty looking cut, while captain Jordan Henderson nears his return to full training.
Liverpool put the finishing touches on their pre-season training camp in Austria with a 2-2 draw at Salzburg, where Rhian Brewster ensured his side avoided defeat.
The occasion provided the ideal test for the campaign ahead with Jesse Marsch’s side full of energy and intensity, handing Jurgen Klopp the “problems” he wanted.
But what he wouldn’t have wanted was for his key defender to be withdrawn after receiving a blow to the head from an opponent’s elbow, leaving blood to pour out of the cut above his eye.
It no doubt led to a few heart palpitations at the time of impact with the season drawing ever closer.
But Klopp was quick to dismiss any fears as he insisted that while it looks as though the Dutchman now has an eyebrow piercing, there is “no problem” for his involvement against Arsenal in the Community Shield on Saturday.
“Virg only looks like he has a piercing now and has a plaster on it,” he told the club’s official website post-match.
“It should not be, and is, no problem. In the moment it is, of course, not cool but there will not be a problem.”
Van Dijk avoiding any ill effects is set to see the manager able to call upon the same squad once more, with players likely to be pushed even closer to the 90-minute mark with the Community Shield typically allowing for only six substitutes.
And there is more positive news in relation to Henderson’s return, with the captain set to step up his recovery by returning to full training following the meeting with the Gunners.
The skipper has been out of action since the July 8 meeting at Brighton which saw him pick up a knee injury, which thankfully for the Reds did not require surgery.
The 30-year-old had his own individual program in Austria and eight weeks after the point of injury, he is set to make his return at Melwood merely 12 days out from the start of the Premier League season.
Unlike Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Henderson was not called up to the England national team for their September Nations League fixtures.
Fan Comments