Jurgen Klopp reveals Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez could return to the Liverpool squad soon

There could be some familiar faces back in the Liverpool squad as Jurgen Klopp revealed that both Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez could return in the next two weeks. 

The centre-back pairing, who started the 2020/21 season together at the back for the Reds, have not featured at all in 2021, as both players were out with long-term injuries.

Van Dijk, who got injured in mid-October against rivals Everton, underwent knee surgery, which kept him out of action for the entirety of last season, while he was also out for the Netherlands during the Euros.

Similarly, Joe Gomez also injured his knee during international duty with England back in November 2020, and failed to recover before the end of the season. He also missed out on the Euros with England. 

Speaking to the club’s official website (h/t Express), Klopp hoped that there could be an opportunity for Van Dijk to feature in Liverpool’s pre-season game against Hertha Berlin on Thursday. 

“I hope, I am not sure, that there is the opportunity that Virgil could play a few minutes,” Klopp explained.

“He looks really good in training, and maybe we can bring [him in], but I need to have some final conversations. He looks ready, and we will see”.

Similarly, Klopp also revealed that he is also hoping to see Joe Gomez return to the squad in early August for their game against Athletic Bilbao.

“Joey is very close. There is no race between the two of them; they had different injuries and stuff like this, but [he is] very close.

“If Virgil can play 20 [minutes] now, then probably Joey can play in the game after. We will see. In training, they both look really good.”

After an injury-hit campaign last season, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool will be hoping to have a fully fit squad this season as they will be looking to compete on all fronts again.