Virgil van Dijk is “at risk” of “serious injuries” having signed a new deal at Liverpool which a doctor claims could backfire for three reasons.
The Reds skipper put pen to paper on a new two-year deal on Thursday and says he’s “so happy” to have committed his future to the club.
“I’m very happy, very proud,” Van Dijk said after Liverpool made the announcement. “There are so many emotions obviously that go through my head right now speaking about it.
“It’s a proud feeling, it’s a feeling of joy. It’s just incredible. The journey I’ve had so far in my career, to be able to extend it with another two years at this club is amazing and I’m so happy.
“It was always Liverpool. That was the case. It was always in my head, it was always the plan and it was always Liverpool.
“There wasn’t any doubt in my head that this is the place to be for me and my family. I’m one of Liverpool. Someone called me the other day an adopted Scouser – I’m really proud to hear these things, it gives me a great feeling.”
But Dr Gareth Nye, a biomedical science lecturer at the University of Salford, revealed he is more concerned by the defender’s new contract than Salah’s, highlighting his position, injury record and a longer recovery time as reasons the extension could backfire on Liverpool.
He told the Daily Star: “Positionally, van Dijk is at more risk of more serious injuries.
“The way Liverpool play, van Dijk is high up the pitch and spends a significant amount of time in recovery runs.
“Defenders are significantly more likely to suffer ligament injuries in the knee and ankle and van Dijk has already suffered one serious cruciate ligament injury which sidelined him for nearly nine months.
“Once you have one injury like this there is a higher likelihood of reoccurrence – look at Joe Gomez.
“I hope and believe he will continue to be a solid defender and a key component in the LFC team during his extension however, he is at a significantly higher risk of suffering career-ending injuries than Salah for example and any injury will have a longer recovery time due to his key position.”
But Dr Nye did ad that most of what he said following Mohamed Salah’s renewal also applies to Van Dijk.
On Salah, he said: “The biggest challenge in footballers over 30 is the physical demands it puts on the body.
“For most pro footballers like Mo Salah, he will be playing three games a week for most of the season and in some pinch points like the Christmas season where the turn around is only a few days. With training in between it can be physically stressful on the body
“You are also competing with younger players who may be naturally fitter or quicker which gives a perception that older players have a natural drop off.
“What we do see is the recovery rates are slower as we age, particularly in muscle. The natural reserve of stem cells used to repair tissue runs out and so muscle injuries may appear more often and take longer to heal.
“Essentially it’s very individualistic and depends on the player’s body, how they train, recover and heal. A big part of this will be avoiding big injuries.
“Mo Salah though is a machine when it comes to fitness and im sure has a great sports science team around him. There is no reason he can’t join the likes of Ronaldo and Messi and the great James Milner and play at the very highest level for a very long time to come.”