Reports: Liverpool superstar Virgil van Dijk could be set for lengthy layoff due to ACL rupture

Liverpool superstar Virgil van Dijk suffered a terrible injury against Merseyside rivals Everton in a fiery clash at Goodison Park on Saturday.

The Dutchman, who has been instrumental for Liverpool's immense success in the recent past, was on the receiving end of a horribly timed tackle from Toffees keeper Jordan Pickford. The Englishman, much like Van Dijk, went for a loose ball from a Reds' corner and ended up ramming into the towering centre-back's knee.

The injury appeared to be a serious one almost immediately, as Van Dijk asked to be subbed off as a result of the tackle. Jurgen Klopp confirmed later on in the post-match interview that the Liverpool defender 'does not look good' when asked about his situation.

---

Liverpool star Van Dijk could be out for '7-8 months'

Van Dijk's clash with Jordan Pickford

Although there is no official confirmation of the nature of the 29-year-old's injury as of yet, widespread reports have already begun to claim that Van Dijk damaged his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during Liverpool's Premier League encounter.

BeIN Sports have claimed that the former Southampton man could be set to miss '7-8 months' of action due to the injury.

This would come as a crushing blow to Liverpool's hopes of retaining their English crown this year. Van Dijk has started all 38 league games in both the 2018/19 and 2019/20 campaigns, and went on to play every single minute of their historic league-winning season last year.

Information on Virgil van Dijk‘s injury is that he’s done his ACL, and will be out for the best part of 7/8 months. #awlfc [bein sports] pic.twitter.com/2VEsAwxOAF

— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) October 17, 2020

Van Dijk's injury was one of the biggest talking points of Liverpool's encounter with rivals Everton in what was an extremely rough 90 minutes of football. The Merseyside derby saw a host of reckless tackles flying around.

Five players — three for the hosts and two for the visitors — were cautioned with a yellow card, while Brazilian striker Richarlison was given a straight red card for his astonishingly rash tackle on Liverpool's new Spanish metronome Thiago Alcantara.

Thiago bekommt die englische Härte zu spüren. Horror-Foul im Derby gegen Everton von Richarlison, der völlig zurecht Rot sieht. Gute Nachricht: Thiago kann wieder mitwirken. @SkySportDE @SPORTBILD pic.twitter.com/S1597wKMBW

— Tobi Altschäffl (@altobelli13) October 17, 2020

Klopp revealed that Thiago also wasn't feeling too great after a tackle which saw the Everton man smash into the Spaniard's knee area, but there is no further information on his situation as of yet.

If the reports about Van Dijk's injury turn out to be true and the Dutchman is ruled out of action for as long as seven months, Liverpool could live to regret their decision of not bolstering their defensive options in the summer. Liverpool are yet to confirm or deny these reports.

---