Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has been ruled out of the Netherlands' upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures. The Dutch side, who currently top their group, are set to face Greece at home on Friday before closing out their campaign against Germany on Monday.
Van Dijk will be joined on the sidelines by Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey, with Netherlands head coach Xavi choosing not to call up any replacements. A statement from the Dutch football association on Monday, cited via the Liverpool Echo, said: "Virgil van Dijk and Brian Brobbey aren't fit enough to feature in the upcoming Nations League matches. No replacements will be called up."
Van Dijk has played every minute of Liverpool's Premier League season so far, in addition to starting three of their four Champions League group matches and featuring in their recent Carabao Cup win over Chelsea. He went the full 90 minutes in Sunday's 3-1 Premier League win at Crystal Palace, though he had appeared to struggle during Liverpool's midweek Champions League defeat at Fenerbahçe following some heavy challenges early in that game.
Liverpool will be monitoring his condition closely ahead of their next fixture, a home meeting with Manchester United the following Sunday.
The club already has concerns over midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, who was substituted in the second half against Crystal Palace with a knee problem and underwent assessments after linking up with the Hungary squad on Monday. Reds head coach Andoni Iraola voiced concern over the weekend about further injuries during the international break, with Liverpool already having lost Szoboszlai, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo to national team duty last month.
