Southampton accept defender Virgil van Dijk will miss EFL Cup finalBy RIATH AL-SAMARRAI FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 22:31 GMT, 26 January 2017 | UPDATED: 22:31 GMT, 26 January 2017
Southampton have suffered a huge blow in the EFL Cup hopes after privately accepting Virgil van Dijk won’t be fit for the final next month.Claude Puel maintained a slim hope that the Dutchman would recover in time from an ankle problem for the Wembley showdown on February 26.
But the club have now lost all faith in seeing their defensive leader appear in their first cup final since 2003. Van Dijk has been lined up to see a second specialist this week after being forced off in Sunday's win against Leicester after a challenge by Jamie Vardy.
However, the expectation is that he will have to sit out the next three months, leaving the 25-year-old in a race against time to return this season.Southampton survived his absence to see off Liverpool in their semi-final second leg win on Wednesday, with Jack Stephens putting in an excellent performance at Anfield alongside Maya Yoshida.
Asked after the game about Van Dijk’s injury, Puel said: ‘I think it’s important injury. He has to see another specialist in a few days and we will see in the next days.’
Van Dijk has been exceptional for Southampton since his £13million arrival from Celtic in 2015 and has emerged as a leading summer target for Manchester City.
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4161708/Southampton-accept-Virgil-van-Dijk-miss-EFL-Cup-final.html#ixzz4WuWfelaE Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
[ 此帖被羅力亞在2017-02-02 22:20重新編輯 ]
