Only 6 minutes into one of the most highly anticipated Merseyside derbies in recent memory, Jordan Pickford executed a horrendous tackle on Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk that left the Dutch centre-back unable to carry on.
The incident demanded a straight red card at the very least, if not a lengthy suspension for Pickford. Despite being pressed by Lucas Digne, Van Dijk had managed to penetrate deep into the penalty area.
Pickford decided to charge out and committed himself into a malicious dive that ended the defender’s match right there.
However, by the looks of it, Van Dijk will be out for the rest of the 20/21 season at the very least. This is because the injury sustained by Van Dijk is reportedly an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury (ACL).
One of the most dreaded injuries in the sport, it takes an immense amount of time and a painful road to recovery to come out on the other side.
Notable examples of ACL injuries that have sidelined players for huge amounts of time include Leroy Sane, sustaining the injury against Liverpool last season in the Community Shield. Another few instances that show the severity of the injury are Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi of Chelsea.
The club confirmed that the star defender required surgery to his knee to repair the damage sustained by the tackle.
The only reason that Pickford managed to get away with the tackle was because of an offside. However, a foul play of such serious nature demands some punishment on the part of the Toffees’ goalie.
Fans, however, are fuming about the issue and have demanded an investigation into the matter by the FA and the Premier League.
Van Dijk posted the following message on social media regarding the injury he sustained:
Virgil Van Dijk is without a doubt one of, if not the single best player in the Liverpool squad right now. His absence at the back will surely be felt, and it makes the Reds’ challenge of defending their title very difficult, to say the least.
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