Jamie Carragher has been speaking on a recent edition of the Sky Sports Football Podcast, and he has been discussing the key moments from the Premier League last weekend.
One of the topics that came up was the news that Virgil van Dijk will undergo surgery after he damaged his ACL during the Merseyside derby.
The Dutchman was on the receiving end of a terrible tackle from Jordan Pickford that went unpunished and led to Van Dijk leaving the field.
It was then confirmed on Sunday that he had suffered an ACL injury and would now undergo surgery, there was no timescale put on the injury by the Reds, but Van Dijk confirmed in a post on Twitter that he would try and be back as soon as possible.
So, it doesn’t look good for the former Celtic man, and Carragher provided his view on what this injury could mean for the Reds and the title race.
It seems as if Carragher believes that with Van Dijk now potentially out for the whole season, the title race has been blown wide open, and the Reds will not be able to replace the Dutchman.
He said: “I think the big question you look at now [is] can Liverpool win the league without Van Dijk there?
“[There are] three or four players in every title-winning team [that are crucial].
“If one of those players are missing no matter how good your manager is, no matter how big your squad is, you can’t cover for them; they’re outstanding.
“So, I think it blows the title race wide open.”
Do you think Liverpool will struggle without Van Dijk?
Yes, could be some serious problems
No, we will be fine
TIF Thoughts on Carragher’s view on Van Dijk and the title race…
Since signing for Liverpool in January 2018, Van Dijk has made 130 appearances for the Reds, and he has won the Premier League, the Champions League, and the Club World Cup.
As well as this, he is also seen as a key part of the dressing room, so you can see why Carragher thinks that Van Dijk’s absence might have implications for the title race.
We will just have to see how Liverpool deal with what could be a lengthy absence for Van Dijk.