Virgil van Dijk Has Reportedly Ruptured His ACL, Could Be Sidelined For 7-8 Months

Reports have emerged saying Virgil van Dijk has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and could be sidelined for a lengthy spell.

The Dutch defender was on the receiving end of a horror challenge from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in Saturday's Merseyside derby and had to be replaced by Joe Gomez in the first half.

The wild scissor tackle from Pickford went unpunished after Van Dijk was deemed to be offside - but VAR also decided that it was not worthy of a red card despite its reckless nature.

And now beIN Sports, specifically presenter Richard Keys, claims that the former Southampton man has suffered one of the worst possible injuries and Liverpool may well be without him for seven to eight months.

At this point there's no official word from Liverpool on Van Dijk's injury but manager Jurgen Klopp did note "it does not look good" when asked about his condition post-match.

"It was a clear penalty I saw and then we saw the flag went up. I thought they would still look at the foul but that didn't happen," Klopp said, as per BBC.

"I don't want to say Jordan Pickford wanted to do it but it is not a challenge how a goalie can do in the box.

"Virgil played I don't know how many games in a row, he plays with pain, but he couldn't play on and that's not good."

If the news is indeed true, it would be a monumental blow for the Premier League champions.

Van Dijk, signed for £75 million in January 2018, has been integral to the Reds' Champions League and Premier League successes in recent years.