Virgil van Dijk will be out of action for over a month after sustaining a hamstring injury in Liverpool's defeat to Brentford earlier this week, Jurgen Klopp has confirmed.
Defender Van Dijk was one of three players substituted at half-time in Liverpool's damaging 3-1 loss at the Brentford Community Stadium, which saw them lose ground in the race for a top-four Premier League finish.
Klopp described Van Dijk's withdrawal as precautionary after the game, but reports later in the week suggested the Netherlands captain's injury was worse than initially feared.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie against Wolves, Klopp provided an estimated timeframe for Van Dijk's return and described his absence as a significant setback.
"On Virg, it's a surprise and obviously a big blow, as he didn't feel a lot," Klopp said at Friday's pre-match press conference.
"I took him off actually, to avoid the risk, maybe he would have tried [to play on] and stuff like this.
"In the end, the diagnosis was pretty harsh. They talk about weeks – more than a month.
"We have to see how it goes but we have other centre-halves. Everything is okay for the team but for Virg, it's hard for him. He's played an incredible amount of games over the last few years.
"We cannot use him on the pitch, only off the pitch, so we will do that."
Asked whether the congested festive fixture list had caused Van Dijk's injury, Klopp responded: "It's his hamstring.
"He never had an issue with muscles or mentioned anything, between the games he was recovering.
"There's nothing to say about it, we did nothing different. It was one sprint."
As well as Saturday's meeting with Wolves, Van Dijk now appears likely to miss Premier League fixtures against Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea before the end of January.
Klopp will be desperate to have Van Dijk available for a crucial spell next month, in which Liverpool face Merseyside rivals Everton and fellow top-four contenders Newcastle United before playing the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid.
Soca Warriors whip Cuba 3-1 to preserve League A status in Concacaf Nations League
Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Warriors gifted interim Head coach Derek King his first win in charge as they defeated Cuba 3-1 in a crucial Concacaf Nations League encounter at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Scarborough on Monday night.
The Soca Warriors, who entered their final Group B contest in danger of being relegated, literally saved their best for last with a dominant performance that saw them preserve their League A status. They
Trinidad and Tobago’s fourth place finish on five points, also secured them a spot in the preliminaries of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. Jamaica (eight points) and Honduras (seven points) took the quarterfinal spots as well as automatic berths into the Gold Cup, while Nicaragua placed third on seven points by virtue of an inferior goal difference.
Cuba (three points) and French Guiana (one point) have been relegated to League B for the next edition of the tournament.
Knowing what is at stake, Trinidad and Tobago, who let a two-goal lead slip away to Cuba on last, wasted little time to declare their intentions. They broke the deadlock in the 13th minute thanks to Dantaye Gilbert, who fired home from close range.
Joevin Jones repaid King’s confidence in him on return to the programme, as he doubled the Soca Warriors lead with a tidy right-footed finish in the 38th minute. Interestingly, that goal took his tally to five to extend his lead as the Twin Island Republic’s all-time top scorer in the Nations League.
Andre Rampersad and Nathaniel James had grand opportunities to push Trinidad and Tobago further ahead, but both were denied by Cuba’s custodian Raiko Arozarena two minutes apart in the 41st and 43rd minutes, respectively.
Cuba threatened to make things interesting after the interval as Yasnier Matos pulled one back in the 62nd minute.
However, Real Gil ensured nothing of the sort transpired when he restored the Soca Warriors’ two-goal cushion with a decent solo effort in the 65th.
Cuba’s problems and, by extension, their chances of avoiding relegation were compounded when Karel Perez Mendoza was shown a red card in the 70th. From there, Trinidad and Tobago did what was required to see off the remaining minutes.
Reggae Boyz seal Nations League quarterfinal berth with goalless stalemate against Honduras
Jamaica’s senior Reggae Boyz closed out their Group B Concacaf Nations League campaign with a goalless stalemate against Honduras at the National Stadium on Monday night.
While their performance wasn’t the most impressive in terms of flair or attacking threat, the Jamaicans did enough to finish atop the League A group on eight points to secure a quarterfinals berth.
Honduras, who placed second on seven points, also advanced to the next stage of the competition. Nicaragua (seven points), Trinidad and Tobago (five points), Cuba (three points), and French Guiana (one point) complete the group.
Jamaica and Honduras now join Concacaf’s top-ranked teams, United States, Panama, Mexico, and Canada, in the knockout round, with the top two finishers in Group A—to be decided on Tuesday—set to meet them there.
The Jamaicans entered the game aiming to build on their 2-0 win over Nicaragua just days earlier, but found themselves stifled in the final third, particularly in the first half.
In fact, it was a slow start by both teams, as they took some time to settle into their respective game plans to prove an attacking threat in open play. The Reggae Boyz moreso displayed patience in an attempt to efficiently execute the possession-based style play desired by Head coach Steve McClaren.
However, while they tried to work out how to break down Honduras' low block tactics in midfield, the visitors launched a few good counterattacks from which they should have piled misery on the Boyz, but for a lack of quality in the final third.
Honduras had eight shots at goal in the first half, compared to Jamaica’s solitary effort, which came in the 33rd when an unmarked Ethan Pinnock fired wide from Demarai Gray's corner kick.
Prior to that, Honduras' first warning shot came in the seventh minute from Edwin Rodriguez, whose right-footer from a distance was easily palmed down by Andre Blake.
Three minutes later, a short pass by Mason Holgate was picked up by Honduras and almost proved costly. Luckily for the Boyz, Joel Latibeaudiere recovered well to avert the danger.
Though they bossed possession, the Reggae Boyz struggled to convert their dominance into clear-cut scoring opportunities, leaving fans at the National Stadium craving more attacking dynamism.
This, as Honduras continued to show more purpose in the attacking third and kept Blake busy, as Jorge Alvarez's 21st-minute shot from the top of the 18-yard box went straight at the Philadelphia Union goaltender.
In the 32nd, Holgate again gave up possession to Antony Lozano, who went on the break, but the Honduran, sporting the number nine jersey and the captain's armband, muffed his effort and gave the Jamaicans a reprieve.
Lozano went on another break in the 38th, but again lacked composure where it mattered most as he slammed a rushed right-footer into the sidenetting.
The Jamaicans were more spirited on the resumption, especially with the introduction of Renaldo Cephas and Kaheim Dixon. Both fleet-footed attackers combined well at times with Michail Antonio and Gray, but their hunt for the go-head goal proved fruitless.
Dixon went close in the 69th when he drove a right-footer along the turf, but the effort went just wide of the right upright.
The former Clarendon College and Arnett Gardens stalwart, who now plies his trade at Charlton Athletic, applied pressure in the 79th and went down in a challenge for possession with Honduras' goalkeeper Edrick Menjivar. However, his appeal for a penalty was waved off by American referee Armando Villarreal.
Honduras' best effort of the half came in the 80th when Kervin Arriaga lashed a stinging left-footed drive from about 20 yards out, but it was tipped over by Blake, who produced another steady performance between the posts, to not only keep a clean sheet but, more importantly, demonstrate the calm leadership he's known for.
Koeman fumes after coming up short in 'all facets of football' against Germany
Ronald Koeman believed his Netherlands side fell short in "all facets of football" after they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Germany in the Nations League on Monday.
Jamie Leweling netted the only goal of the encounter at the Allianz Arena, marking his senior international debut in style to put his nation on the brink of qualification.
The Netherlands struggled during the contest, ending the game with an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.13, with Donyell Malen's 89th minute effort their only attempt on target.
Koeman's side also managed just eight touches in the opposition box compared to Germany's 26, despite edging the possession at the full-time whistle.
"If you go back too far, you bring that on yourself," Koeman said.
"We came up short on all sides, perhaps in all facets of football. We did things differently at half-time and then we got a bit more rest. But they were much better today.
"I am not satisfied by our performance. The Germans were the better, faster and physically stronger. They created more chances.
"We lost too many balls in the midfield. We went too far back. That was not the plan. The plan was to put pressure forward on the right side. But it did not happen."
The result leaves the Netherlands in second in Group A3, level on points with Hungary after Dominik Szoboszlai's double handed them a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Stand-in captain Stefan de Vrij echoed Koeman's thoughts after the encounter, saying his side deserved to lose against Germany.
"It seems clear to me that it was a deserved defeat," said De Vrij.
"The first half was very mediocre. We were very sloppy and gave away a number of balls just like that, which allowed them to become dangerous.
"In the second half it was a bit better, but it's hard to create chances."
The Lazio defender took the armband in place of Virgil van Dijk, who was suspended following his red card against Hungary.
Though the Netherlands did not do enough in attack, De Vrij said that Van Dijk's absence from the team had an impact.
"Yes, of course you miss him. He's a very important player and he's our captain. And he's a great defender, so it makes sense that he's missed," De Vrij concluded.
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