DOHA (Qatar): Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk is fit and fine to feature against Mexico’s Monterrey in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinal at Khalifa International Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The Dutch international, who finished behind 2019 Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, didn’t training with the team on Monday evening.
The Premier League side arrived in the Qatari capital on Sunday.
“Virgil is fine. We had to do different stuff for recovery for different people, so that was the reason why he was not involved in the session,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
However, Georginio Wijnaldum will miss the semis due to injury although the muscle injury he sustained against Watford is not as serious as first thought.
Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Fabinho are all out and haven’t travelled to Qatar.
Meanwhile, Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez said he was seeking to create another chapter of Liverpool folklore after winning the UEFA Champions League in June.
“The chance to do so, considering it’s not been won before, is a big thing for us,” the 22-year-old told the club website.
Liverpool currently leads the Premier League table on 49 points, and Gomez and his team-mates want to end the year on a high.
“We’re obviously very motivated to try to win this. I think winning the Champions League only made us hungrier. It is a habit we want to keep and try to make it a consistent part of our season,” he said.
Monterrey, who defeated Al Sadd 4-2 in the round two, will continue to be without former Tottenham Hotspur striker Vincent Janssen.
Winger Aviles Hurtado remains a long-term absentee after rupturing his Achilles tendon back in September.
