Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk won’t talk about Everton’s Jordan Pickford, according to Dutch claims, with it now just over a year since he suffered his injury.
Van Dijk spent all of last season on the sidelines and subsequently missed the European Championships after tearing his cruciate ligament in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
The injury was caused by a high, lunging tackle by Pickford, whose ill-timed attempt to block Van Dijk at the post saw him essentially scissor kick him in the knee.
It was a poor, rash challenge from the Everton goalkeeper that should have seen him sent off, something he avoided due to Van Dijk being offside in the build-up to the incident.
That only added to the pain for the defender and Liverpool, whose title defence essentially derailed from the minute the Dutchman was ruled out.
It’s a subject that plenty still want to discuss to this day, but De Telegraaf report that Van Dijk ‘wisely leaves out’ the subject when doing interviews.
He’s more than happy to sit down and discuss all things football, but he ‘doesn’t want to say anything’ about the Everton goalkeeper and the tackle that ruined his and Liverpool’s season.
Instead, he wants to focus on his return to action this season, insisting that the injury hasn’t affected him mentally.
“My injury was caused by a kick,” he said.
“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.”