Virgil van Dijk's Road to Recovery: Latest Updates and When Liverpool's Defensive Rock Could Return

Virgil van Dijk has been forced to pull out of the Netherlands national team's November squad due to an injury that has reportedly been troubling him for nearly a month.

Andoni Iraola has already experienced the sting of the 'FIFA virus.' Liverpool's Basque manager saw Cody Gakpo, Alexander Isak, and Dominik Szoboszlai limp out of the extended autumn international window earlier this campaign. When concerns emerged about a potential recurrence for Szoboszlai this month, Iraola expressed his worry: "The last thing we need right now is to lose players during international fixtures."

Iraola confessed that he would be "praying" for his players to return unscathed. As the legendary former Liverpool manager Bob Paisley once said: "You keep your fingers crossed about injuries. That is in the lap of the gods."

Liverpool's head coach may well have Van Dijk on his mind following this latest setback.