Virgil van Dijk has revealed that he is confident he has not suffered a serious injury after limping off late in Saturday’s FA Cup final win over Chelsea.
The Liverpool man played the full 90 minutes but did not emerge for extra-time, with Joel Matip taking his place for the remaining half an hour.
Already without Fabinho and having seen Mohamed Salah pull up after 32 minutes, fans were left concerned at the sight of another vital cog in the machine appearing to pick up an injury, but Van Dijk has done his best to allay those concerns.
“Hopefully well, we’re going to check it out,” he said after the game. “I felt it in the first half when I sprinted, I felt a twinge behind my knee, I played on.
“In the end, I can’t risk it for the team and I need to trust Joel. Hopefully it will be fine.”
Manager Jurgen Klopp echoed that sentiment after the game, telling BBC Sport: “I think Virgil is fine but his muscle was hurt.”
The Reds take on Van Dijk’s former employers, Southampton, on Tuesday and then have a date with Wolves to finish the season on May 22.
There’s also the small matter of the Champions League final, which comes against Real Madrid six days later.
