Jordan Henderson says Liverpool’s key incentive without Virgil van Dijk is to ensure they are still battling for trophies when he returns.
The Reds are going to have to make do without Van Dijk for many months, after it was confirmed that he has suffered cruciate ligament damage.
Many are expecting the Dutchman’s absence to make a major difference in the Premier League title race, with Manchester City now favourites to prevail next May.
Speaking to Liverpool’s official website, Henderson admitted it was a body blow to Van Dijk and the team, but promised that the Reds would do everything to remain at the top for when their star man returns:
Yeah, it’s a tough one. It’s a big blow for us. For him personally, obviously. But for us as a team, a massive blow.
I’m just gutted for him. So, it’s been a tough couple of days, I spoke to him yesterday. And yeah, it’s a difficult moment, but that’s when you need to be there for each other.
I’ll be there as much as I possibly can for him, I’m sure the lads will do the same and his family certainly will, to help him through the journey he’ll go on.
But I’m sure he’ll be back stronger. In the meantime we’ve got to do everything we can to help make us stronger and basically go and win as many games as we can for him, really.
That’s down to us as players to make sure that when he is back and he is fit that we’re still fighting to be successful and fighting for trophies.
You’ve got to use times like this to be stronger and to be even more together than we already are. And use it as a positive in some way – I know it sounds ridiculous at the moment, but that’s what you need to try to do. We need to try to look forward and try to help us in the next however many months Virgil will be out for.
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I see this as the perfect opportunity for Liverpool to show that they aren’t as reliant on Van Dijk as is being claimed.
It is impossible to deny that the 29-year-old is a hugely important figure – he could arguably be the most influential player in the Premier League – but the Reds are still littered with world-class players.
Alisson is an award-winning goalkeeper, while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson are magnificent full-backs with 67 assists bewteen them for Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Thiago is an elite midfielder who is considered among the best in the world in his position, and the quality of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino speaks for itself, with the trio scoring a combined total of 263 goals in a Reds shirt.
That’s without mentioning the likes of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita, too.
On top of that, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip have been excellent performers for Liverpool on the whole, and Fabinho can also do a job at centre-back, as he showed in a superb performance at Chelsea earlier this season.
This will be a massive test for the Reds, but they are still more than good enough to challenge without Van Dijk.
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