Van Dijk injury blow for Liverpool: Klopp confirms defender set to miss ‘more than a month’ with hamstring issue

• Dutchman suffered issue against Brentford
• Scan has revealed “harsh diagnosis”
• Gakpo set to make Reds bow this weekend

WHAT HAPPENED? The Dutch international defender was taken off at half-time of the Reds’ 3-1 defeat at Brentford on Monday, having complained of discomfort. Klopp had initially suggested the issue was not a serious one, but subsequent tests have revealed a significant muscle strain, with Van Dijk now set to be sidelined until mid-February.

WHAT THEY SAID: Klopp told reporters: “Virg was a surprise for us, obviously, a big blow. He didn’t feel a lot. I took him off, actually, no risk.

“In the end, the diagnosis was pretty harsh, but we talk about weeks – more than a month. I hope it goes quick, but for now he is not available. That’s how it is. We have other centre-halves, as long as that’s the case everything is OK for the team.

“But for Virg, it’s harsh. He played an incredible amount of games over the last years. [Now] we cannot use him on the pitch at least. Off the pitch, we will do that.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Liverpool entertain Wolves in the third round of the FA Cup this weekend, and will have new signing Cody Gakpo available for that game. They face Premier League games against Brighton (A) and Chelsea (H) before the end of January, and take on Wolves (A), Everton (H) and Newcastle (A) before their Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid on February 21, with Van Dijk facing a race to be fit to play a part.

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WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL? The Reds’ first game without their centre-back stalwart comes in the FA Cup third round on Saturday night at Anfield.