Major blow for Liverpool as Van Dijk hamstring injury 'worse than first feared'

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is facing a spell on the sidelines with his hamstring injury reportedly worse than first feared.

Van Dijk, 31, was forced off at half-time during Liverpool's 3-1 defeat to Brentford in the Premier League on Monday night.

While it was initially thought to be a tactical decision by Jurgen Klopp, it later emerged that Van Dijk had felt an issue with his hamstring during the first half.

After the match, Klopp said he was hopeful that the injury was not a serious one.

"Virgil felt the hamstring a little bit," he told beIN SPORTS.

"He said he's fine, but when I said we don't take any risks, the physios were quite happy with that.

"I think it's nothing serious, but that's why we changed him."

However, The Times journalist Paul Joyce has now reported that Van Dijk's injury is more serious than it initially appeared and is set to rule him out of Liverpool's upcoming games.

"Virgil van Dijk facing spell on sidelines for Liverpool. Hamstring injury sustained in defeat to Brentford is worse than first feared," tweeted Joyce.

It is a major blow for Liverpool, who are already missing several first-team players - including Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Roberto Firmino and James Milner.

Van Dijk set to miss the rest of the month

The Liverpool Echo claim Van Dijk is expected to miss the rest of the month, ruling him out of Liverpool's FA Cup third round tie against Wolves on Saturday.

He will also be unavailable for their next Premier League match away at Brighton on January 14 and their crucial clash with Chelsea at Anfield on January 21.

Van Dijk suffered the injury against Brentford on Monday (Image: Alamy)

Liverpool are currently seven points off the Champions League places after Manchester United beat Bournemouth 3-0 on Tuesday night.

They will be hoping to bounce back from their defeat to Brentford when they travel to face Wolves in the FA Cup this weekend.

Joel Matip could partner Ibrahima Konate in central defence in the absence of Van Dijk, while Joe Gomez and Nat Phillips are other options for Klopp at centre-back.

Liverpool are the current holders, having beaten Chelsea on penalties in the 2022 final at Wembley.