Virgil van Dijk has admitted he is still not fully fit with Liverpool’s new Premier League season just days away.
The captain was uncharacteristically out of sorts throughout the Community Shield win, conceding a penalty and jumping out of the defensive line to allow Crystal Palace to twice equalise.
It was the first 90 minutes Van Dijk has completed since representing the Netherlands in June, having missed the opportunity against Athletic Club last week due to illness.
And the 34-year-old offered a strong hint that he is still not fully fit ahead of the season opener on Friday, after taking to social media to reflect on the Community Shield defeat.
He penned: “First of all, congratulations to Crystal Palace. Tough to take for us and on a personal level, head down, work and improve!
“It was good to get more minutes out there as I continue to work back to health and fitness.
“Time to focus on what’s ahead now. I can’t wait to be back at Anfield!”
In total, the No. 4 played 240 minutes throughout pre-season, the 12th most of any player in Arne Slot‘s squad.
There have been no details on what the specific illness was that kept him out of the pre-season friendlies at Anfield, but he will have known the importance of playing the full match on Sunday.
As per FotMob, Van Dijk earned the third-lowest rating (6.5-out-of-10) of any Liverpool player at Wembley and only successfully won two of his five duels – both in the air.
Liverpool do not have long to recover before they kick off their Premier League title defence, with Bournemouth the visitors on Friday evening.
Van Dijk will be expected to start alongside Ibrahima Konate, but work is to continue in the search for further reinforcements at centre-back, with Marc Guehi remaining a top candidate.
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish admitted that they have to be open to selling their captain as they cannot allow Guehi to leave on a free transfer next summer.