Frank de Boer has left Virgil van Dijk with the decision as to whether he’ll join the Dutch national side for their upcoming European Championship campaign, as reported by ESPN’s Good Morning Eredivisie show (via FootballOranje.com)
The No.4 has recently returned to running in training, with the defender making remarkable strides in his rehabilitation since first suffering the long-term injury last year.
“I think he has to decide, it is his career,” the former Barcelona star said. “I can imagine that he is in a dilemma. Can it mean something for Orange? I hope he has made giant steps in his rehabilitation.”
The clock is already ticking in terms of the player’s potential involvement in the competition, with De Boer needing to confirm his full squad by the end of May.
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Despite the progress the centre-half is making on the training ground, a fairytale return to the pitch for Liverpool is still looking increasingly unlikely as we draw ever closer to the season climax.
We have to then raise questions as to the viability of turning up for the national team.
It’s a decision, of course, that is firmly the 29-year-old’s prerogative, however, considering the nature of what has kept the former Southampton star sidelined since the first Merseyside derby of the term, it would seem an unnecessary risk to take.
After all, if there are already concerns about the kind of player we’ll be getting back from a season-ending ACL for the 2021/22 campaign, it would surely make a certain amount of sense to keep the Dutch international wrapped up in cotton wool, figuratively speaking, until then.