Wijnaldum: Van Dijk going 'through hell' after knee injury
Georginio Wijnaldum says Virgil van Dijk is going 'through hell' as he recovers from a serious knee injury but has backed his Liverpool teammate to get fit in time for this summer's European Championship.
The defender is expected to miss the majority of the season after sustaining ligament damage that required surgery during a Merseyside derby clash with Everton last month.
But Wijnaldum, his colleague for club and country, is backing Van Dijk to come back strong from this testing moment of his career.
“Virgil will return with God's will," the Dutchman told VI.
“It is a difficult time for him; this is the worst thing you can experience as a football player. You go through hell.
“But I think he is very strong. We FaceTime every now and then and that is very nice.”
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Liverpool will be hoping to avoid any further injury setbacks after sending a number of players off on international duty this week.
On the club-v-country dynamic, Wijnaldum added: “As a club you never have the guarantee that you will get players back completely fit.
“We play three international matches and that takes energy. But as a football player I think it is great to play many matches with the Dutch national team.
“Everyone who is now with the Oranje is happy with these international matches. At the moment I feel very good and very fit.
“But we are only at the beginning of the season. I don't know what it will be like later. Will I get a message from Liverpool? Yes, that I have to come back fit! Nothing more.”