The manager of Liverpool football club, Jurgen Klopp, has revealed that the club’s defenders Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez would not be fit early enough for Euro 2020.
Virgil van Dijk is an important player for the Netherlands national team which he has been a member of since October 2015. Since he made his debut in 2015, the 29-year-old center-back has made 38 appearances and has scored four goals for his country’s senior team.
As important as he has been for the Netherlands, so he is for Liverpool but since October 2020, the Dutch football star has not been able to do much for the struggling Premier League giants due to injury problems.
His absence has contributed to the poor run of games Liverpool have been suffering which saw them slid from the top of the league table to the 8th spot with 43 points in 28 games.
Also, Van Dijk’s defensive partner, Joe Gomez might not be fit early enough to play for England national team in the Euro 2020 which would kick-off on 11 June 2021 according to coach Jurgen Klopp.
Joe Gomez has been out of football since November and Klopp says it might be difficult for the 23-year-old English defender and Van Dijk to be ready for the forthcoming European football tournament.
This means that Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are not expected to play any part in the remaining games of this season. Before Van Dijk’s injury, the defender has made 5 appearances and has scored a goal. While Gomez who made his international debut on November 10, 2017, managed to play 7 Premier League games this season before he got injured.
While stressing that it was not his decision for Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez to likely stay out of the European Championship, Jurgen Klopp hoped that they would be ready for Liverpool’s pre-season.
He said: “It is not my decision but to be honest, the information I have at the moment is that it will be unlikely,” said Klopp of any potential summer international involvement.
“So (it’s) not that I don’t let them go, because I don’t want to have to do that anyway, it is because of the extent of the injuries.
“We all hope they will be ready to start pre-season with us, that’s what we all hope. With Joel, it is pretty much the same.
“These are really serious injuries and it is now not about talking about which competition they play.
“I am always open for positive surprises and they all of a sudden turn up in team training – but no-one told me that.
“The two of them look better than Joel, as he is still in what looks like ski boots. Joe is not running, Virgil is already running but this is a real tough one.
“We will be completely over the moon when they are ready to train with us for the start of pre-season but the Euros, I didn’t think about it.
“When do you have to be back to be ready to play in Euros? The week before? The day the Euros start? I don’t know.
“I understand maybe the need of that but we cannot make this decision and we will not. They will be fit when they are fit.”
Liverpool will continue their fight for a good finish on the Premier League table when they visit Molineux Stadium to play Wolves on Monday, March 15, 2021. A win in the game might take the Merseyside club as far as the 7th spot depending on the outcome of other league games.
