Virgil van Dijk has called for a wider discussion on the workload of footballers playing at an elite level following a ‘devastating’ injury blow for Liverpool.
The satisfaction of a hard-fought 2-0 win away to Sheffield United on Wednesday night was tempered by the news that Joel Matip has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament, a major setback which appears to have ended his season prematurely.
Speaking to liverpoolfc.com following the result at Bramall Lane, the Reds captain said that his teammate’s ACL agony is indicative of a growing number of serious concerns throughout the footballing landscape.
Van Dijk stated: “We are in December and there are so many games to come. Unfortunately, the other day we lost Joel Matip and we are all devastated by that. That’s a sign as well; we have so many injuries going around in world football, it’s something we have to look at as well.”
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This isn’t the first time that the Liverpool and Netherlands captain has spoken out about the intense fixture schedule that players at the highest level must navigate, and it’s no coincidence that injuries are rife across the Premier League.
As per premierinjuries.com, the Reds currently have six players sidelined, and even that pales in comparison with the likes of Brighton, Chelsea (nine each), Brentford, Newcastle (10 each) and Tottenham (13).
Some of those are long-term setbacks, too – Matip, Nick Pope, Ivan Perisic, Rodrigo Bentancur, Rico Henry and Wesley Fofana are all in the midst of serious injuries which, in some cases, have already been season-ending.
Van Dijk was speaking amid a period which sees Liverpool play three matches in seven days, five games in 15 days and 10 times in 33 days.
The Reds’ Europa League clash against Union Saint-Gilloise next Thursday begins a 13-day window containing five matches, so it’s a huge relief that we’ve already secured top spot in our group and can duly rest our first-team stalwarts for the trip to Belgium.
Nonetheless, the fixture pile-on is unquestionably taking a toll on elite-level footballers and requiring them to push their bodies to their absolute limit, thus increasing the risk (and frequency) of serious injuries occurring.
More players need to follow Van Dijk’s lead and hammer home to the authorities that the gruelling workload of the modern era isn’t OK. Their peers are suffering as a result; just ask the stricken Matip about it.
An ACL for Matip? I know Jurgen hates buying in January but this isn’t any old injury as we’ve seen in the past. We’ll need another CB. I know we have Nat Phillips coming back off loan, but so many games to play and so many others with injuries and niggles already I think we really have to buy someone this time. I know it’s not easy in January and it usually costs more but ………….