Virgil van Dijk Withdraws From International Duty Ahead Of Liverpool's Visit To Southampton
Virgil van Dijk is returning to Liverpool after leaving the Netherlands squad on 'medical grounds' ahead of the Reds' Premier League clash against rock-bottom Southampton on Sunday at St Mary's Stadium.
The Liverpool captain lasted the entire duration of his country's 4-0 win over Dominik Szoboszlai's Hungary in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday evening. By virtue of the victory, Ronald Koeman's side have progressed to the quarter-finals of the competition.
Van Dijk will now head back to Anfield to begin preparations for this weekend's clash as well as the upcoming games against Real Madrid in the Champions League on November 27 and Manchester City at Anfield on December 1.
Koeman disclosed that both Van Dijk and Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong will play no part in the Netherlands' game against Bosnia on Tuesday evening in Zenica as the pair report back to their respective clubs.
Koeman said: “For both Frenkie and Virgil it is better for them to leave the training camp at this moment.
"That decision was taken on medical grounds, with of course the interest of the players coming first.”
Speaking after the win over Hungary on Saturday evening, Van Dijk said: "I want to do my thing, play my best game ever and be important for the group every time I'm on and off the pitch. I want to contribute one hundred percent to that every day.
"We're still growing, I think. There are phases in matches in which things are going very well, especially in possession. But there are also moments in the transition where we can be better defensively by thinking a little more defensively and playing more compactly.
"It's just not easy, because you're used to different things at your club. Then it takes some getting used to here. At the end of the day, it's all about the result. And 4-0 in an important game is just really good.
"I am very satisfied with how we have recovered. We kept a clean sheet. But it's clear that the rest of the defence wasn't always good in the beginning. (Dominik) Szoboszlai (Liverpool team-mate) was just wandering around and that's a nuisance. Overall, it was a well-deserved victory. It's good that we scored four times, kept a clean sheet and qualified for the quarter-finals. The latter is the most important thing, especially at this stage of the season.
"I think we can get our act together with any opponent that awaits us (in the quarter-finals). But first we play one more game this year, on Tuesday in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we will work towards that towards the international matches in March."
LFC Transfer Room Football Correspondent. Covered the fortunes of Liverpool for the past three years. Follow Joseph on X (formerly Twitter) @joseph_agbobli