Virgil van Dijk has explained how he left the agony of his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury behind him to enjoy “one of the best moments” of his life.
The current Liverpool captain saw his 2020/21 season cut short in October of that campaign after being taken out for a reckless tackle by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
Reflecting on the first weeks of his nine-month layoff, the 32-year-old recalled how a family holiday helped kick-start his long road to recovery.
Speaking to France Football, Van Dijk said: “The first two weeks were horrible. I couldn’t do anything. You lay in your bed, lost your muscles, and watched yourself lose weight.
“The only way out was to get back on our feet, so we took a family trip to Dubai. I must admit that it was one of the best moments of my life. Seeing my wife and children every day gave me a great boost. I had my routine and my physical therapist lived with us. “I could come back as quickly as possible and in the best shape possible.”
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Liverpool fans will be glad to know that Van Dijk didn’t spend much time feeling sorry for himself, which would have been easy to do after the ACL horror inflicted on him by Pickford.
No footballer wants to be injured, although one consequence of a long layoff is the possibility of spending more time with the family, something that the Dutchman seems to have appreciated in the last weeks of 2020.
After returning to the football field, he rediscovered the world-class levels that took him to second place in the 2019 Ballon d’Or rankings and distinguish him as one of the best defenders the Premier League has ever seen.
Everyone associated with Liverpool must be delighted with the emphasis with which Van Dijk put aside his ACL problem, as such a serious injury can mark the beginning of the end for other footballers, especially if they had already suffered a layoff. long-player earlier in his career. .
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