Virgil van Dijk, a Liverpool defender, has bemoaned the number of games he played before and after the World Cup, admitting that his body paid a price for his quick return from knee surgery.
For the first time since his £75 million transfer from Southampton in 2017, Van Dijk, since joining Liverpool in 2017, has lately been the subject of criticism with the Reds dip in form.
The Dutchman, however, revealed how it unfitting it was to have come back from a torn cruciate ligament injury 18 months ago and ‘played too many games at a time.’
“I came back from quite a complex injury. That takes treatment, that takes time, it takes getting used to and adaptation,” said Van Dijk.
“Coming back from the knee injury, I played all the Premier League games because everybody wants to be out there and I want to be out there. What caught up is that I played too many games at a time. When it’s game day I want to play and I’ll do everything possible to play, but I could have also thought before the World Cup, ‘let’s rest a little bit in order to be ready’.
“But I didn’t because I want to play and I want to be influential for this football club because I love this club and I work each and every day to be successful for this club. But it caught up with me unfortunately, my body. I’m not a robot and I think going into the World Cup, having the World Cup, and then doing nothing for a week and coming back was maybe not the right decision.”
After returning from a six-week absence with a hamstring injury, Van Dijk put up a stunning performance, scoring in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“These six weeks were a good chance for me to reflect, but also let my knee settle a little bit and get ready for the rest of the season,” he said.
“It was a tough six weeks to watch because you want to help the team and especially with a hamstring injury you have to be very patient. Patience is not in my vocabulary. It’s not in my system, but I had to [be].”