**Liverpool are already without a number of key players ahead of their Champions League clash with LASK, and now captain Virgil van Dijk is a doubt.**
The Reds were beaten 3-0 at home to Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, with a weakened starting lineup not helping their chances of victory at Anfield.
The likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak were all missing for Liverpool, among others, and [Andoni Iraola](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/andoni-iraola-press-conference-liverpool-man-city-premier-league) didn’t exactly provide a positive update after the game:
_“Dom came from the national team with tightness, an overload. We put him as a floater in the training and tried to protect him but he was feeling something very small. It’s true that now we play four games in 10 days, so it’s going to be difficult because we fly to Austria in two days. I think it’s going to be difficult to recover any of the players.”_
Liverpool are preparing to visit LASK in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, and in quotes provided by [_This Is Anfield_](https://www.thisisanfield.com/2026/10/virgil-van-dijk-injury-knock-man-city-lask-rest/), Van Dijk has now said that he is battling to be fit for the game after picking up a “knock” against City:
_“Obviously it’s not a given I’m starting but I’m doing everything in my power to be ready. I had a little knock in the end on my calf which is pretty painful, so I’m going home to get some treatment to be ready for Wednesday._
_“If I’m fit and ready to play I want to play. But at the end of the day it is the manager’s decision and we need everyone. The manager decides: if I play I play, if I don’t I don’t and that’s just it.”_
**Liverpool must manage Virgil van Dijk with care**
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Not having Van Dijk available for the midweek Champions League action would be an obvious blow for Liverpool, considering the skipper is arguably the first name on Iraola’s team sheet, proving to be almost as good as ever.
But at 35 years of age, the Dutchman must be handled with great care by the Reds, who need to keep an eye on his workload and not risk a worse injury.
The LASK game could even be a good opportunity for Liverpool to rest Van Dijk, ensuring that he is fresh for a tough-looking trip to Brentford in the league on Saturday afternoon.
Ronald Araujo could potentially move to his preferred centre-back alongside Jeremy Jacquet, or Joe Gomez could even come in as well, in order to give the latter the evening off after plenty of minutes this season.
LASK shouldn’t be taken lightly by Liverpool, but their squad depth is lacking because of the current injuries, so of all the upcoming fixtures in October, this one makes the most sense to rotate in.
Ultimately, Van Dijk is still likely to start the game, as is so often the case, but if there are any concerns about his fitness, it would be ridiculous to risk him for a game where the result isn’t necessarily make-or-break.