Virgil van Dijk knows better than most what a long road to recovery entails and he was quick to stand behind Harvey Elliott after his horror injury at Leeds.
The 18-year-old was making his third successive start for Liverpool having more than earned the trust of Jurgen Klopp, only for his afternoon to end in horror circumstances.
Moments before he was set to be substituted, a challenge from Pascal Struijk in front of the Liverpool dugout saw Elliott sustain a nasty ankle injury that Klopp later said was a dislocation.
“I heard it was dislocated. He could put it back,” an emotional Klopp told Sky Sports.
His teammates were visibly shaken and after a long rehabilitation period of his own, Van Dijk was quick to send his best wishes to Elliott and acknowledge the support that will come his way.
“Our thoughts and prayers are going to Harvey, hopefully, he recovers quickly and as good as possible from it,” Van Dijk said post-match to Sky Sports.
“Obviously, we have no idea what the diagnosis is at the moment but it looked bad and apart from that, it was a fantastic win here.
“From the moment it happened you saw Mo already shouting to the side that it was really serious and then you look at the reaction of Harvey and you basically know it’s really, really serious.
“The whole treatment process you do nothing basically, just standing still and you hope for the best and then you have to refocus.
“We had to deal with and we tried to deal with it in the best possible way.
“We will see what the outcome is in the next hours, day and then we’ll pray and hope for the best for him.
“Oh, 100% [will offer support],” Van Dijk continued. The good thing is I’ve experienced with all the players, the staff and all-around Liverpool, the fans and they had my back and they worried for me in difficult times too.
“I’m 100% sure they are all going to be there for him and our club will also be there for him no matter what.”
The injury was one that overshadowed what was a brilliant 3-0 win at Leeds that keeps Liverpool level with Man United and Chelsea at the top of the table.
Elliott himself posted a quick update on his Instagram from the ambulance, saying: “Thank you for the messages guys. Road to recovery. YNWA”
His recovery timeline remains unclear but it will certainly be in the months for the youngster.
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