The Champions League last 16 tie between Real Madrid and Liverpool is still quite some time away. The first leg is scheduled to be played on February 21 and the second one on March 15. It is safe to say that it is a very important fixture for both teams, especially after they contested last season’s final, with Los Blancos coming out on top thanks to Vinicius Jr’s winner on the day and Thibaut Courtois’ inspired performance in goal.
Amidst all this, it looks like Liverpool have been handed an injury scare heading into one of the most important phases of the season.
Virgil van Dijk was brought off at half-time in Liverpool’s recent game against Brentford with what was not thought to be a major issue at that point of time.
But as reported by The Athletic, Van Dijk’s hamstring injury is worse than expected and the Dutchman is set to see a specialist to establish the extent of the issue and whether it is serious enough to keep him out for a considerable length of time.
Liverpool superstar suffers injury before Real Madrid tie
If the injury proves to be significant then Van Dijk could potentially end up missing the Champions League tie against Real Madrid, or one of the legs, with the first one being around seven weeks away at this point of time.
At the same time, one cannot overlook the period that it takes to return from an injury and get back to rhythm and form.
Of course, considering the amount of injuries that Real Madrid have had to deal with this season, it would be a surprise if they go into that tie fully healthy themselves.
It remains to be seen how the situation turns out. It is never good to see any player suffer an injury though and we can only hope that Van Dijk has not picked up a serious issue.