Klopp has handed a fresh update on Van Dijk’s recovery from injury ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Old Trafford.
Jurgen Klopp admitted Virgil van Dijk, along with his fellow Liverpool long-term absentees, still has a long way to go in his rehabilitation program.
Hopes of a Van Dijk comeback grew on Thursday after the Dutchman posted a video on social media of himself running as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.
The former Southampton and Celtic defender has been sidelined since October for Klopp’s side.
— Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk) April 29, 2021
But while progress has been made in his recovery, Van Dijk still has a long way to go yet.
“Yes, he is running,” confirmed Klopp on the club’s website.
“[Jordan] Henderson is running, Joe [Gomez] is running, Joel [Matip] is running. That’s all good; imagine they wouldn’t be able to run at the moment, that would be really bad.
“They are running and in rehab, it always starts with straight-line running; I’m not sure if you saw Virgil running a lot of curves or just straight, so there are a lot of things to come.
“You go through a lot of steps until you are finally ready to join team training, especially with long-term injuries – there are a lot of steps to go and they are all quite a way from that.
“It means nobody told me, ‘Fasten your seatbelt, make yourself ready, the boys will be in team training next week.’
“No, nothing [has] changed really, but they are in a good way.”
On the bright side, though, the Reds have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Sunday’s visit to Manchester United.
With a four-point gap between the sixth-placed club and the top-four, Liverpool desperately need a strong result at Old Trafford in a bid to qualify for the Champions League next season.
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