Virgil van Dijk returns to training ahead of Liverpool’s Club World Cup final against Flamengo
Written by News on 20/12/2019
Virgil van Dijk has returned to training with Liverpool in Qatar ahead of the Club World Cup final against Flamengo.
The Netherlands centre-back missed Wednesday’s tight semi-final win over Monterrey in Doha through illness, forcing Jordan Henderson to play in the middle of defence in a Reds’ side depleted by injury problems.
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Georginio Wijnaldum also missed the 2-1 victory and did not feature in the first training session on Friday,
However, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed the midfielder took part in training later in the day.
When asked if Van Dijk and Wijnaldum are available for Saturday’s final, Klopp said: “We will see on both things actually.
“Virgil was part of training today. Gini had a session today. We will see how it looks at the end.
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“We have no new injury concerns. We will use each hour for recovery and we will see who we can line up tomorrow.”
Dutch centre-back Sepp van den Berg is an option for Klopp if Van Dijk is unable to face Flamengo.
The 18-year-old travelled to Qatar on Wednesday after playing in the 5-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup the previous evening.
Klopp may also continue with Adam Lallana in a central midfield role after he impressed in midweek against the Mexican side – a position Klopp earmarked for him in pre-season.
Lallana said: “We are going to need every member of this squad if we are going to be successful this year, and being successful is winning this competition, going for the league, being successful in the Champions League.”
Klopp believes European clubs should place a higher value on the Club World Cup, which is due to expand to a 24-team tournament in 2021.
“We are here and my team wants to win the competition,” said Klopp.
“We know that is very difficult because the other team is really, really good but that’s how it is with big competitions.
“The view on it in Europe is completely different to the rest of the world but I would like to change that view a little bit.”
(c) Sky Sports 2019: Virgil van Dijk returns to training ahead of Liverpool’s Club World Cup final against Flamengo
