Virgil van Dijk could miss FIFA Club World Cup final

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk could miss the FIFA Club World Cup final against Flamengo on Saturday, according to the Daily Mirror.

The report states that Van Dijk completed some training on Thursday, but he was not able to get through the entire session.

The Dutchman missed Liverpool’s 2-1 semi-final victory over Monterrey on Wednesday due to illness.

Jordan Henderson was forced to play in Van Dijk’s position as Jurgen Klopp is short of centre-halves at this current moment.

Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren are injured, which meant Joe Gomez and Van Dijk were the only two fit senior centre-halves available for the tournament in Qatar.

When asked about Van Dijk’s absence against Monterrey, Klopp told liverpoolfc.com: “It was an easy decision actually because he couldn’t train.

“Yes, he was yesterday on the [training] pitch for a couple of minutes until the media left [the session] and then, unfortunately, he had to leave as well.

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LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – Friday, January 5, 2018: Liverpool’s new signing Virgil van Dijk, who joined from Southampton for £75m, a world record for a defender, during the FA Cup 3rd Round match between Liverpool FC and Everton FC, the 230th Merseyside Derby, at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

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“Not because of the media, just because he didn’t feel well. So yesterday [Tuesday] no training was possible, this morning [Wednesday] no training possible, so it was an easy decision – he couldn’t play.

“It was difficult for Hendo to deal with, but he did really good. We will see, I don’t know how quick he can recover. We will see.”

If the Dutchman were to be unavailable for the final, it would be a huge blow. Van Dijk has been pivotal in terms of Liverpool becoming a world-class team again.

When you also consider that Liverpool are short of defensive options at this moment, Van Dijk’s absence becomes an even bigger loss.

Liverpool do have enough quality to beat Flamengo come Saturday with or without Van Dijk, but there is no denying the Reds are a far greater chance of victory with the centre-back on the pitch.

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Source: anfieldhq.com