Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk's most recent comments suggest the Reds are yet again suffering from the same problem that has plagued both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah in recent seasons.
The Dutchman has explained that he feels he made a mistake by pushing his body beyond its limits which in turn led to an extended spell on the sidelines. Van Dijk has endured his worst season in a Liverpool shirt so far this term and certainly faced his fair share of criticism, but the central defender has since explained why he has struggled.
Van Dijk suffered a serious knee injury just under three years ago, which nearly curtailed his entire career. He has explained how he feels he has played too many games since that injury and also believes he rushed back from the World Cup.
"Coming back from the knee injury, I played all the Premier League games, because I want to be out there. But what caught up (with me) is that I played too many games at a time," he explained.
Van Dijk went on to reflect on the impact his return from the World Cup has had on him, with the Dutchman sustaining an injury that kept him out for weeks in early January.
"I could have also thought before the World Cup, 'Let's rest a little bit in order to be ready'. But I didn't. And I think going into the World Cup, having the World Cup, and then doing nothing for a week and coming back was maybe not the right decision.
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"I would say that everything that happened, happened for a reason, and this six weeks (injury lay-off) was a good chance for me to reflect, but also let my knee settle a little bit and get ready for the rest of the season."
Unfortunately for the Liverpool faithful, this isn't the first time one of their key players has suffered as a result of a physical burn-out from too many fixtures.
During the 2020/21 campaign, Alexander-Arnold was the player in the spotlight as his form drastically declined.
Ex-Red Jason McAteer put the drop in quality down to fatigue as well as his inexperience at the time.
He claimed to FreeSuperTips: "When a player is slightly older and more into their career, you can handle it better, but with Trent, he's young, he's played football at the highest level and playing every week.
"It's a lot of mental pressure for a young player to deal with. He looks worn out mentally and physically, and his brain looks fried."
McAteer compared Trent's drop-off to that of Salah's during the Egyptian's second season in Merseyside.
"It's similar with Mohamed Salah in his first season where he scored so many goals when he didn't match that the next season, people said he was finished when in hindsight, his stats are simply phenomenal."
Van Dijk met a similar kind of backlash from furious fans too quick to write the centre-back off. While he is looking some way back to his best, the defender's comments should serve as a warning to manager Jurgen Klopp over how often he uses certain players.
