---
title: "Shearer offers Van Dijk support after past experience of ACL injury"
canonical: "https://readliverpoolfc.com/articles/shearer-offers-van-dijk-support-after-past-experience-of-acl-injury/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Henry Jackson"
section: "Articles"
published: "2020-10-21T11:30:21Z"
modified: "2020-10-21T11:30:21Z"
---

# Shearer offers Van Dijk support after past experience of ACL injury

Alan Shearer has offered his support to Virgil van Dijk, saying he recovered from an ACL injury and returned as good as ever.

Van Dijk picked up the [injury](https://readliverpoolfc.com/2020/10/18/van-dijk-ruled-out-for-months-with-cruciate-ligament-injury/) in last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Everton, following a much-criticised tackle from Jordan Pickford.

It means arguably Liverpool’s most important player will not feature again this season, acting as a monumental blow to the Reds’ Premier League title chances.

Shearer [suffered](https://www.football365.com/news/five-players-who-improved-after-long-term-injuries) the same fate during his time at Blackburn Rovers in the 1990s, but came back and went on to be the [leading Premier League goalscorer](https://www.premierleague.com/stats/all-time) in history.

Writing for *[The Athletic](https://theathletic.com/2147288/?source=twitteruk)*, the 50-year-old gave Liverpool supporters something positive to think about:

> The good news is that Van Dijk will be back as good as ever, as quick and as sharp and proficient.

> An anterior cruciate ligament injury is no longer career-threatening as it was in the 1980s and before.

> I came back from mine and immediately had the best three goalscoring seasons of my life.

> I still have to manage my right knee with stretches and weights to keep it strong, particularly in winter when the cold gets to it, but since the operation, I’ve never had a problem.

### Read Liverpool Verdict

In decades gone by, Van Dijk’s injury could have been a career-ender, but as Shearer alludes to, that is no longer the case, given the jump forward in medical science in football.

There is the fear that the Dutchman won’t quite return as the all-conquering presence he was, however, particularly as he turns 30 next year.

You would like to think that Van Dijk’s [superb fitness record](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/virgil-van-dijk/verletzungen/spieler/139208) before Saturday’s injury stands him in good stead though, hopefully speeding up the recovering process and ensuring he returns as the world’s best centre-back.

For such a great player to lose his edge in his prime would be a real travesty.