Virgil van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk (born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains both Premier League club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation and one of the greatest defenders in Premier League history, he is known for his strength, leadership, speed and aerial ability.

After beginning his professional career with FC Groningen, Van Dijk moved to Celtic in 2013. At Celtic, he won the Scottish Premiership and won the Scottish League Cup in the second. In 2015, he joined Southampton before signing for Liverpool in January 2018 for £75 million, a then-world-record transfer fee for a defender. With Liverpool, Van Dijk reached back-to-back UEFA Champions League finals in 2018 and 2019, winning the latter. He was also named PFA Players’ Player of the Year and the Premier League Player of the Season in his first full season. He won the FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup, and helped end the club’s 30-year league title drought by winning the 2019–20 Premier League. He is the only defender to win the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award, and has finished runner-up for both the Ballon d’Or and Best FIFA Men’s Player, all in 2019.

Van Dijk represented the Netherlands at under-19 and under-21 levels. He made his senior international debut for the Netherlands in 2015 and assumed full captaincy of the national team in March 2018.

(source: Wikipedia)

The ACL injury

INJURY
On October 17, 2020, during a Premier League match between Liverpool and Everton at Goodison Park, Virgil van Dijk suffered a devastating anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. The incident occurred in the early minutes of the game when Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a reckless challenge on Van Dijk inside the penalty area.

The injury was serious enough to require surgery, ruling the Dutch defender out for the entire 2020–21 season. His absence had a massive impact on Liverpool’s campaign — the team struggled defensively and failed to retain their Premier League title.
Van Dijk began his rehabilitation soon after surgery and made a successful comeback in August 2021, returning stronger and quickly reclaiming his position as one of the world’s best defenders.

COMEBACK
After spending nearly ten months on the sidelines recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, Virgil van Dijk made his long-awaited return to football on August 5, 2021. The comeback took place during a pre-season friendly match between Liverpool and Hertha BSC in Innsbruck, Austria.
Following this friendly, Van Dijk gradually regained full match fitness and started the 2021–22 Premier League season, marking a successful end to a challenging recovery journey.