With Virgil van Dijk sent off in Netherlands’ 1-1 draw with Hungary, the Liverpool captain is set to return to Merseyside early.
Van Dijk was sent off in controversial circumstances on Friday night as he received two yellow cards in the space of three minutes.
The centre-back protested the first of those two yellows when speaking to NOS after the game, insisting that as Netherlands captain he was permitted to discuss a potential red-card foul on Donyell Malen with the referee.
He also added that he intended to stay with the Netherlands squad for their clash with Germany on Monday, explaining that he “just wants to be with the team as captain.”
However, the Dutch FA have confirmed that this will not be the case, with Van Dijk instead departing their training camp early.
This will allow the 33-year-old to report back to the AXA Training Centre before the majority of his team-mates, which is a major boost to Liverpool.
While Liverpool will likely grant Van Dijk time off, he should then rejoin the first of Arne Slot‘s players back in training next week.
It comes during a brutal start to the campaign for the defender, who is behind only Mohamed Salah (817) for the most minutes played for the Reds so far (810).
Liverpool will host Chelsea in their first game back after the international break on October 20, to kick off another relentless run of fixtures across three competitions.
Slot’s side play seven times over 21 days between the two breaks, with the visit of Chelsea followed by clashes with RB Leipzig, Arsenal, Brighton (twice consecutively), Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa.
With Van Dijk one of the most important players at the club, ensuring his continued fitness is paramount.
And while suspension for his country will not be viewed as a positive for the Netherlands, it is undoubtedly the case when it comes to Liverpool.
