Van Dijk pens heartfelt letter to fans as he prepares for surgery, lengthy spell on sidelines

Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk has spoken on social media for the first time since he was taken off against Everton on Saturday, October 17 in a heated Merseyside derby.

Van Dijk only played 11 minutes before a horror tackle by Toffees goalkeeper Jordan Pickford sent him to the dressing room.

The 29-year-old Dutchman will now undergo surgery after it was established he sustained an Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury (ACL).

“The centre-back damaged knee ligaments following an incident involving Blues goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after six minutes at Goodison Park. Van Dijk was required to be substituted and further assessment on the injury has revealed an operation will be needed,” said Liverpool on their website.

Van dijk took to his social media to describe to fans his current situation, promising to come back stronger.

He wrote:

"This afternoon I met with a leading consultant to start the process of planning the finer details of my rehabilitation following the incident yesterday. I'm now fully focused on my recovery and will do everything I can to be back as quickly as possible.”

"Despite the obvious disappointment, I'm a firm believer that within difficulty lies opportunity and with God's help I'm going to make sure I return better, fitter and stronger than ever before.

"In football, as in life, I believe everything happens for a reason and it's important to keep level headed whether going through the highs or the lows.

"With the support of my wife, kids, family and everyone at Liverpool, I'm ready for the challenge ahead.

"I'd like to thank everyone for the messages of support, it's meant a huge amount to me and my family, and I'll now be doing everything possible to support my teammates in any way that I can ahead of a big few weeks as I take my recovery day by day. I'll be back."

pic.twitter.com/rpdxFZViwq — Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk) October 18, 2020