Liverpool have confirmed Virgil van Dijk has had successful surgery after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury following Jordan Pickford's challenge in this month's Merseyside derby.
The club have so far remained silent on the duration they expect to be without the 29-year-old but have confirmed surgery in London has taken place without any issues.
A club statement read: ‘Virgil van Dijk has undergone successful surgery on the knee ligament injury he sustained earlier this month.
‘'He'll now focus on the beginning of his rehabilitation with the support of our medical department.'’
Despite their defensive talisman’s expected long-term absence, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp had admitted that the club have coped as well as possible in van Dijk's absence.
‘'He is the best centre back in the world. You play a game he gets injured and you play three days later so of course that's difficult to do because all the boys played together with him and we didn't have long for them to get used to playing without him,’' Klopp said last week.
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‘'We expect not perfection but not too far away from perfection. Everyone needs time to replace a massive person or player and so far we've done pretty well.'’
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
