Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was absent from Sunday’s FA Cup third-round clash with Arsenal due to illness.
The decision to leave out the Dutch defender was unexpected, with Ibrahima Konate and 20-year-old Jarell Quansah forming the central defensive partnership instead.
Speaking to BBC Sport about Van Dijk’s absence, Klopp explained that the defender had fallen ill:
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“Virg [van Dijk] is ill. We were actually kind of lucky in the last two, three weeks because a lot of staff had it but not the players.
“And now Virg got the virus and we have to see how he feels tomorrow and if he is available for the next one. But for today there was no chance, so we didn’t even try it.”
Despite Van Dijk’s absence, Liverpool’s defense delivered an impressive performance at the Emirates Stadium, securing a clean sheet, notably with Konate putting in a standout display. Klopp praised the center-backs for their performance in the post-match press conference:
“Top, top,” said Klopp. “Oh my God, the horrible moment was [when] Ibou was twice down and then Jarell goes down and jarred his back, twisted a little bit. Actually, I thought that’s it and then it would have been really tricky early in the game.
“It was really good [from Konate and Quansah] and Joey [Gomez] again [was] good and Trent exceptional. Then you have Ali [Alisson Becker] for moments, so that’s helpful as well.”
Regarding Van Dijk’s potential availability for Liverpool’s upcoming Carabao Cup semi-final first leg clash with Fulham on Wednesday evening, Klopp expressed hope for his return:
“[He is] ill. I’m hopeful [he will return on Wednesday] but I don’t know. He came and it is difficult for Virg to look [rubbish] but he did, so we sent him home again.”