Liverpool have enjoyed a long and successful 2022 but that has also meant that we’ve had to play a lot of football along the way and one of our players has played the third most football of any footballer in the Premier League.
As reported by BBC Sport: ‘Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk ranks third on the list of Premier League players who have played the most minutes for club and country during 2022 so far, according to a study by the PA news agency’.
This is a clear illustration of how important Virgil van Dijk is to Jurgen Klopp as he is always featuring for the Reds and is rarely afforded the opportunity to be rested or rotated – despite the presence of Joel Matip, Ibou Konate and Joe Gomez.
Considering that our No.4 missed most of 2021 with the knee injury that saw him sidelined for so long, it’s a real show of character and fitness from the captain of Holland to be able to play so much and at the highest level.
Let’s hope that the 31-year-old can continue to be so readily available whenever called upon and that we can see his injury-free run can continue for as many years as possible.
Following his penalty heartache in Qatar, the defender hasn’t had much of a break because of the World Cup but will now be expected to come straight back into Anfield action.