Jordan Pickford’s horror tackle had inflicted a debilitating injury on Virgil van Dijk in the Merseyside Derby in October 2020, with the Liverpool captain after that reportedly refusing to accept an apology from his rival.<\/p>\n
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk reportedly gave Pickford the cold shoulder following the latter\u2019s apology\u00a0for ahorrific tackle that resulted in a serious ACL injury. Saturday would\u2019ve been Liverpool’s final Premier League trip to Goodison Park before Everton’s new stadium opens next season, but the game was postponed due to bad weather. A new date for the Merseyside Derby hasn’t been provided yet.<\/p>\n
Van Dijk is obviously all too familiar with Goodison Park after suffering an ACL injury at the ground in 2020 that occurred during the Merseyside Derby when Pickford collided with Van Dijk’s knee, forcing him off the pitch. This injury saw the Dutch defender miss the remainder of the 2020\/21 season and his chance to lead the Netherlands in Euro 2020.<\/p>\n
According to the Liverpool ECHO, Van Dijk rejected Pickford’s attempts to assist him back onto his feet after the collision. Apparently Sadio Mane, the former Liverpool star, had told the England goalkeeper to “go away”.<\/p>\n
The controversy was heightened as Pickford escaped punishment due to being offside at the time of the collision. Jurgen Klopp expressed his confusion over the lack of penalty, stating post-match: “It’s not good. Virgil plays with pain but he couldn’t play on. Not good.”<\/p>\n
He further commented on Pickford’s challenge, saying: “Pickford kicks him completely. I need to watch it back. I’ve seen the disallowed goal at the end and in the picture I saw it wasn’t offside. Can someone explain that to me?”<\/p>\n
After Van Dijk’s return the following season, he chose not to dwell on the horror challenge, acknowledging his undiminished bravery in tackles. “My injury was caused by a kick,” he explained.<\/p>\n
“It wasn’t a moment when nobody was around. Actually, that made it a bit easier mentally to go all the way. Sometimes it is at the back of your mind, but it is not something that really concerns me. It’s certainly not like I’m afraid to go into a duel.”<\/p>\n
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