Virgil van Dijk Forced Off With Nasty Gash in Liverpool's Draw With Salzburg

Virgil van Dijk was forced off in the second half in Liverpool's pre-season friendly with Red Bull Salzburg following a nasty clash of heads.

The Reds began their pre-season campaign in Austria with a 3-0 victory over Stuttgart on Saturday evening before they came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Austrian champions Salzburg on Tuesday afternoon.

Their attentions now turn to Saturday's Community Shield clash with Arsenal before they start the defence of their Premier League title in just over two weeks against the newly-promoted Leeds United.

However, the fitness of Van Dijk will be a concern for Jurgen Klopp ahead of Saturday. The elegant Dutchman was substituted off after sustaining a gash above his right eye following a clash of heads with a Salzburg player.

He left the field clutching a pad to his cut eye, but fortunately, Jurgen Klopp has confirmed the gash is by no means a serious injury (via club's official website):

“Virg only looks like he has a piercing now and has a plaster on it. It should not be, and is, no problem. In the moment it is of course not cool but there will not be a problem.”

It had been a tricky afternoon for the imperious Dutchman before his departure, mind. After the mightily talented Patson Daka made Fabinho pay for a moment of sloppiness in possession to give Salzburg the lead after two minutes, the Zambian scored his second with a tap-in from close-range after losing Van Dijk with a smart bit of movement inside the area.

A mix-up between the Liverpool defender and shot-stopper Alisson almost allowed Daka to bag a hat-trick early on in the second half, but Van Dijk did just about enough to ensure the Salzburg striker's effort was placed wide.

Nevertheless, the Reds improved following the Dutchman's departure and eventually restored parity through a pair of Rhian Brewster strikes. The young Englishman building on his impressive showing and goal in the triumph over Stuttgart.

Despite their late resurgence, it's hardly ideal preparation for Klopp's men ahead of the Community Shield.

Although, it'd be mightily surprising to see Van Dijk omitted from the German boss' starting XI on Saturday.


Source : 90min