Juventus star Mathijs de Ligt has revealed Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk doesn’t want to put ‘too much pressure on himself’ in regards to his injury comeback.
The Reds stalwart has been battling back from a knee ligament injury since October following a clash with Jordan Pickford in the Merseyside derby.
The process has been a long and slow one for the Dutchman, who is expected to miss the remainder of the season and return next year instead.
However, there has been a growing optimism over the last month or so that that will not be the case, and he could feature for not only Liverpool but also the Netherlands at the European Championships.
This is something Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has rallied hard against, insisting neither he nor the Dutch set up should be putting a timescale on Van Dijk’s return.
This week saw him backed in that regard by Netherlands boss Frank de Boer, who insisted he was not counting on Van Dijk for the summer at this moment in time.
That could change in the coming months depending on the player’s recovery, but De Ligt insists Van Dijk is taking a cautious approach to his comeback.
“He made a very fresh impression, was free in his head,” he told De Telegraaf following a phone conversation with the Liverpool star this week.
“I don’t know how he is physically, because I don’t think he wants to put too much pressure on himself.
“He looks at it from day to day and will see how it is at the European Championships.
“It is important that he does not feel the pressure from us as a team or as a country to be there per se.
“That is up to him. If he doesn’t make it, others will have to step up.”
