The road to recovery has been a long one for Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, and while summer is well and truly here they are still putting in the hard yards – only now in Portugal.
The pair are on course to link back up with Jurgen Klopp and co. when pre-season gets underway on July 12, but boxes still need to be ticked following their respective knee injuries.
Van Dijk withdrew himself from Euro contention this summer to have his body ready for Liverpool as they start 2021/22 preparations, and he’s getting closer to his goal with each and every day.
But now Kirkby is not the backdrop for the Dutchman and Gomez, but Algarve, Portugal at a high-performance campus designed for athletes and their rehabilitation and pre-season preparation – and they’re not alone.
It acts as the idyllic location for warm weather training, with temperatures hitting as high as 27 degrees in a setting that has all the comforts one could wish for, both work and fun.
And Gomez has provided a brief glimpse into their work on the training pitch in Portugal, with the proprioceptive training in full swing, which includes zig-zag and turning movements, and ball work.
On the journey back from serious knee injuries, it’s an important step to take to not only strengthen the area but also the mind and any lingering doubts of re-injury.
It certainly is a welcome sight to see them together and closer to where they need to be ahead of the pre-season return date of July 12.
While now on the UK government’s amber list, Portugal was initially green-listed and it now means they would have to quarantine on their return – unless the guidelines change once more.
But the pair aren’t the only Reds in Portugal, with young ‘keeper Marcelo Pitaluga also seen training at the high-performance centre.
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