Jamie Carragher believes it is unfair for people to pass judgement on Virgil van Dijk regarding the presumption he is saving himself for the World Cup.
Liverpool defender Van Dijk will lead the Netherlands out for the first time in a major tournament when they face Senegal on November 21. The 31-year-old missed the chance to feature in the European Championships last year after suffering an ACL injury during the Merseyside Derby in October 2020 - a period the Dutch giant recently described as one of the lowest points of his career.
The awarding of this year's World Cup to Qatar has been a contentious issue since 2010, particularly since the 2015 decision to stage the tournament in the winter due to unplayable high temperatures in the summer. And with just one week between the final weekend of Premier League fixtures and Qatar's opening game against Ecuador, scrutiny has intensified as key players across the globe pick up injuries that will rule them out entirely.
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Players will usually have around two months to recover from relatively minor issues - muscle pulls, ankle sprains etc. - before the start of the tournament, giving national team managers appropriate time to assess injuries before naming their squad. But with such a short break, the last fortnight has seen any small problems threaten a place on the plane to Qatar.
Carragher slammed the decision to stage the World Cup during the winter in Qatar during this week's Champions League coverage on CBS Sports, and the former Reds captain has echoed those thoughts today, adding that van Dijk has unfairly received criticism for supposedly holding back in case of injury.
"Harry Kane going head-to-head with Virgil van Dijk should be one of the most exciting duels of the season," Carragher wrote in his column for the Telegraph.
"Instead, you can be sure that, whatever the outcome, if Kane or Van Dijk fail to meet their usual standards one or both will stand accused of ‘saving themselves’ for England or Holland.
"Van Dijk has been hearing that for months. Having missed the last European Championship because of serious injury, it would be understandable if – subconsciously at least – the competition was on his mind. Whether that is true or not, it is not fair on Van Dijk to be judged in such a way."
Speaking after the 2-0 Champions League win against Napoli on Tuesday, van Dijk himself admitted he will 'definitely' need a small break, despite there being just eight days between the final on December 18 and Boxing Day, when the Reds travel to Aston Villa.
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