Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has stated that he has “no clue” whether his star center-back Virgil van Dijk will be able to overcome illness to feature in Liverpool’s Club World Cup final against Brazilian outfit Flamengo on Saturday.
Van Dijk missed Wednesday’s 2-1 semi-final win over Mexican side Monterrey, as the Reds needed a stoppage-time winner from substitute Roberto Firmino to progress through to the final in Doha.
Liverpool already has a few defensive worries as Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren are already absent and the Reds deployed captain Jordan Henderson, nominally a central midfielder, in an unfamiliar center-back zone alongside Joe Gomez in the clash against Monterrey.
The defensive duo of Henderson and Gomez may have to play together again against Flamengo if Van Dijk cannot return from his illness. However, Klopp’s squad is due to be reinforced by young stars that were beaten 5-0 by Aston Villa in the EFL Cup on Tuesday and a few kids may travel to Qatar immediately.
Reporters had asked Klopp whether the UEFA Player of the Year, Van Dijk would be back for the final, and the 52-year-old was still unsure as he replied, “We have no clue, to be honest. We thought when we came here he will be fine for today – he wasn’t. We’ll see, I don’t know.”
The German head coach then explained that a few kids that faced defeat in the League Cup will be thrown into the mix for the final against Flamengo if the 28-year-old Dutchman is not available, “We brought now a few kids – Sepp [van den Berg], Ki-Jana Hoever is here, Harvey [Elliott] will come tomorrow. We will see what we can do line up-wise.”
