Virgil Van Dijk: “We Have to Be Ready to Suffer”
Competing on four fronts with a mounting injury list is a challenge that Liverpool have to embrace according to their captain.
For a Liverpool side in the midst of challenging for silverware on four fronts, the injuries have begun to pile up, making an already difficult task even more so.
Any team trying to win the Premier League, though, goes into the season knowing there will be difficult stretches—never mind doing it while also advancing in the Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup.
There will be injuries to deal with. Fixture congestion to overcome. Games where things don’t go your way but you still need to find a way, somehow, to get the result.
“We cannot deny that we have had so many injuries,” captain Virgil can Dijk noted. “We have lost big players so we have to adapt, but it is also a big credit to the players who have stepped up and taken their chances.
“We need everyone in this whole fight. We are still competing on all fronts and let’s keep this going until the very last moment so we can be successful.”
The Reds are currently without Alisson Becker and Trent Alexander-Arnold, both expected out for at least a few more weeks. Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota both are likely gone for the foreseeable future. Darwin Nuñez and Dominik Szoboszlai are questionable.
Add to that long-term absentees Thiago Alcântara, Stefan Bajcetic, Ben Doak, and Joël Matip and you have basically an entire starting eleven—and a very good starting eleven at that—missing.
In their absence, though, Liverpool’s squad depth has shone. Now they will need to continue to do so—and do so knowing that those injuries mean there won’t be many options for rest and rotation in the coming weeks.
“Calmness is the most difficult thing to have if you are under a lot of pressure or being rushed,” Van Dijk added. “That is the big message. You have to stay calm, however difficult.
“What is the trick of staying calm? It is to enjoy your football. You have to expect difficulties. We play in the Premier League, we play against difficult teams who want to hurt you and want to kick you off from first place.
“We have to be ready to suffer. We are not a perfect team but we have to keep going.”
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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