Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted he ‘doesn’t know’ when Virgil van Dijk will be fit again after he sat out of their Club World Cup victory over Monterrey.
The Dutchman missed out on the semi-final clash in Doha after he was struck down by illness, with captain Jordan Henderson bizarrely deputising at centre-back.
His presence at the back was sorely missed, but Roberto Firmino came off the bench to score an injury-time winner against the Mexican side to send the Reds through to the final against Brazilian club Flamengo.
But Klopp has conceded he is unsure in Van Dijk will be fit enough to play in Saturday’s showcase and says he will be assessed in the coming days.
Asked about the defender’s absence, Klopp told liverpoolfc.com: “It was an easy decision actually because he couldn’t train.
“Yes, he was yesterday on the [training] pitch for a couple of minutes until the media left [the session] and then, unfortunately, he had to leave as well.
“Not because of the media, just because he didn’t feel well.
“So yesterday [Tuesday] no training was possible, this morning [Wednesday] no training possible, so it was an easy decision – he couldn’t play.
“It was difficult for Hendo to deal with, but he did really good.
“We will see, I don’t know how quick he can recover. We will see.”
Meanwhile, Henderson said he relied on constant dialogue with his team-mates as he navigated his way through the match as a makeshift central defender.
With Van Dijk pulling out and Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Fabinho all sidelined, Klopp opted to shift the England midfielder alongside Joe Gomez at the heart of the Reds’ back-line.
“It was a bit different,” the Liverpool skipper told BBC.
“But I just tried to do my best in that position, I had great people around me – Robbo and Joe were talking to me all the time.
“The most important thing was the win [and] we defended pretty well for the majority of the game. We would have liked to have scored another couple of goals, but overall I think we’ve got to be delighted with the way things went in the end.”