Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk explains the need for a break post the World Cup for the players
Several Liverpool players will travel to Qatar later this month for the World Cup. The Premier League goes on until November 13th after which a break ensures for the big event in the Middle East until December 26th.
Obviously, after a tough start to the campaign and the World Cup as well, the players returning could have a lot of fitness and fatigue issues. Even the UEFA Champions League group stage games saw a shorter time frame than usual this season to accommodate the World Cup.
With such high-intensity games in a small window, the players will have to keep up with the pace of the Premier League without any substantial breaks, which might lead to fatigue problems, and possibly injuries as well.
Speaking to reporters, via the official Youtube Channel of This is Anfield, Liverpool centre-half Virgil van Dijk responded in this manner when prompted on whether the players would need a break or not:
“Yeah. It depends, hopefully we reach the final and we win it, but you never know. We’ll definitely need a little break and we’ll probably get one as well, we’ll see.”
The Dutch international will be leading his country in the World Cup later this year and hopes to win it for the Netherlands. Post the World Cup, Liverpool’s first match is on boxing day against Aston Villa. The Reds also play Leicester City before Brentford on New Year’s.
Injury issues galore for Liverpool
Liverpool gaffer Jurgen Klopp, knowing the injury-prone nature of the club, would understandably want to give his players a good rest post the World Cup and ease matters for them as well.
League fixtures against Tottenham and Southampton with a Carabao cup clash against Derby County ensures for the Reds before the FA closes the top-tier for the international break, and Liverpool would hope to make most of these games before the halt.
A number of players could miss the first three games of the league after the conclusion of the World Cup break in the PL in case their countries progress to the later stages of the World Cup and hence, their return could be delayed pushing everything in the schedule.
The World Cup commences on 20 November and ends with the final on 18 December. Football in the Premier League is scheduled to resume on 26 December as the Reds play against Aston Villa at Villa Park.
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Players who would not be travelling to Qatar will instead travel to Dubai to play mid-seasons friendlies against AC Milan and a training camp will be set there as per Liverpool Echo.
