A lengthy spell on the sidelines finally ended last week for the Dutchman, who featured in the friendly against Hertha Berlin.
Virgil van Dijk’s return from injury doesn’t guarantee Premier League success for Liverpool in the coming season, warns Jamie Carragher who is worried about the defender getting “rushed back” into action.
An unfortunate incident in October last year prompted a premature end to the season for Van Dijk, who was rushed to the treatment table after colliding with Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford during a Merseyside derby.
It took nine for the Netherlands international to completely put his horrible injury in the past, with the player returning to action in Liverpool’s loss in the pre-season warm-up fixture to Hertha Berlin on Thursday.
The return of a player who had been instrumental to the team’s success in recent years has stirred up much excitement among the Reds faithful, especially considering how the team’s form largely depreciated in his absence in 2020-21.
“I think we have to be careful and I think Jurgen Klopp will be,” Carragher said at a Soccer Aid event, per Goal.
“I don’t think we should expect that Virgil van Dijk comes back into Liverpool and Liverpool are going to automatically win the league again this season.
“He’s had a really serious injury and he’s got to make sure he is not rushed back. If he’s back to his best he is the best central defender in world football and that’s what Liverpool will want over the next five or six years, not the next five or six weeks.
“If he doesn’t make the first game of the season it’s not the end of the world, it is about making sure Virgil van Dijk is 100 per cent right so he’s in a position where he can have the next five or six years at Liverpool at a top level.
“It may be a gentle start with Virgil until we see him when he is 100 per cent right, but if that could be on that first game of the season and he can play the next few games I think everyone would be delighted.”
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