Jurgen Klopp has cast doubt over whether Virgil van Dijk or Joe Gomez will have returned from injury in time for the Euros this summer, as reported by the Belfast Telegraph.
The centre-back duo have been out of action since the latter end of 2020, having both been ruled out with long-term injuries.
“It is not my decision but to be honest the information I have at the moment is that it will be unlikely,” the 53-year-old said. “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,” Klopp added. “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.”
Is there any chance of an early return for either Van Dijk or Gomez?
Some hope that Van Dijk would make a late return to the pitch had blossomed in light of the Dutchman’s apparently positive recovery efforts.
There are suspicions, however, that any effort to encourage an appearance toward the end of the season would still potentially be rushing our No.4 back into action, similarly so for Gomez.
Given that Klopp is already concerned that the pair won’t be available in time for the Euros, we’d be surprised if they came back ahead of schedule before Liverpool’s pre-season – better to be safe than sorry.
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