Virgil van Dijk continues to make great progress in his recovery efforts, posting an Instagram story today of him performing keepy-ups in Dubai.
The colossal Dutchman has been out of action since the Merseyside derby, after suffering anterior cruciate ligament damage from a gruesome challenge by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
The No.4’s step-up to ball work of late has prompted some to suggest that the defender is ahead of schedule, however, it is worthwhile for the club to not push him too hard in a bid to get their star centre-back back on the pitch before the season end.
It’s entirely possible, of course, that we could be treated to some Van Dijk action before the term’s wrapped up.
We’ve missed the 29-year-old’s comforting presence at the back, and it would give us no greater pleasure than to see the Dutch international back on the Anfield turf in the (relatively) near future.
Have a look at the clip below, courtesy of Virgil van Dijk’s Instagram:
He’s Virgil Van Dijk #LFC pic.twitter.com/2VRzZzr2lj
— supermane10 (@supermanelfc) January 17, 2021
It’s brilliant to see Virgil kicking a ball but this doesn’t mean he’s close to coming back. I tore my ACL 3 years ago and was kicking a ball roughly 14 weeks after surgery. I had an unbelievable physio but obviously nothing compared to the treatment Virgil gets. Kicking the ball is actually one of the easier steps. It’s the change of direction at speed, the hopping distances you can achieve whilst maintaining balance, learning to drop from heights on one leg and maintaining balance that will serve as barometers for how close he is. The hardest part is how he reacts to the unexpected. Running at speed and taking an unexpected shoulder barge and being able to mentally take that and have the strength in his leg to beat his body weight, that’s one of the biggest challenges. Sorry to be a kill joy, obviously good to see him looking healthy, and I’ve got my fingers crossed he makes a speedy recovery.
Since everybody’s unique and everybody’s body reacts differently to injuries and subsequent treatment thereof, there’s definitely reason to be very optimistic.