Virgil van Dijk makes surprising admission about horror injury caused by Jordan Pickford

Virgil van Dijk says the serious knee injury that ruined his 2020/21 campaign with turned out to be a blessing in disguise. was sidelined for nine months after in a collision with goalkeeper in October 2020.

The Liverpool defender was caught by Pickford in the Merseyside Derby in a tackle that his team-mate Georginio Wijnaldum described as "completely stupid". Pickford escaped punishment for the tackle, but ex-Reds midfielder Wijnaldum said that "none of the players slept" that night due to worry about their team-mate.

He ended up and missed playing in Euro 2020 with the Netherlands. Van Dijk underwent surgery to repair his knee and spent countless hours working hard in the gym on his recovery, often accompanied by Joe Gomez, who had also suffered a knee injury around the same time.

Van Dijk found that period difficult, but not being able to play also meant he got to spend more time with his family. Reflecting on that period after on Sunday, he has a philosophical take on the subject.

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“It was one of the best times of my life,” he told . “Look… It was tough. Mentally more than anything. You do have sleepless nights. You keep asking yourself, ‘how is this gonna pan out? Will I be the same player?’ But physically, I think, because you’re an athlete, you can cope.

“It’s just, I had to do the majority of my rehab away from the club, in Dubai, so I was with my family, which was so nice. Seven weeks with them. I never get to do that. It was some of the best family time I’ve ever had. And, obviously, no one wants to get a serious knee injury, but that time we had was sort of worth it.”

Van Dijk made his first steps on his recovery in the pre-season of 2021 before returning for the 2021/22 campaign. It took him time to get up to speed and he says that he found the running commentary on his performances difficult to deal with.

“Every mistake, in any game, people will refer to the injury,” he said. “I know you can do nine things right and one thing wrong, and people will only focus on that one wrong thing. It can mess your head up and then you lose confidence… You feel scared to make mistakes.”

helped him overcome his issues. “Confidence is like a flower,” he said. “Jurgen taught me that. It is delicate. It can be easily crushed. So I know I have to communicate leadership just by someone looking at me.”

ACL injuries are often caused by awkward movements, rather than contact. Van Dijk’s therefore came in unusual circumstances. “My injury was caused by a kick,” .

“It wasn’t a moment when nobody was around. Actually, that made it a bit easier mentally to go all the way. Sometimes it is at the back of your mind, but it is not something that really concerns me. It’s certainly not like I’m afraid to go into a duel.”

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