Take heart Liverpool fans, Van Dijk will be back in a matter of months

Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (centre) tackles Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk (left) during their English Premier League match at Goodison Park in Liverpool, England on October 17, 2020.

Photo credit: Peter Byrne | AFP

What you need to know:

  • ACL is one of the main stabilising structures in the knee and plays an important role in controlling movement of the joint
  • ACL tears are usually observed when is in motion and rapidly turns or changes direction with the foot planted on the ground
  • In the case of Van Dijk, his foot was planted on the ground and the twisting came from the force of the tackle

We recently reviewed injuries to the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) focusing mainly on general management options. And, hey what do you know. Over the weekend Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk suffered an ACL injury.

As we had mentioned earlier, the ACL is one of the main stabilising structures in the knee and plays an important role in controlling movement of the joint.

It is particularly important in stopping the lower leg from moving too far forward or the knee moving side to side during activity.

This control is very important for athletes who are involved in sports which require rapid change in direction, for example, football, netball and rugby.

Most ACL injuries occur without any external contact. ACL tears are usually observed when one is in motion and rapidly turns or changes direction with the foot planted on the ground. This twists the knee which is supporting the body weight and also  absorbing the inertia force.

In the case of Van Dijk, his foot was planted on the ground and the twisting came from the force of the tackle.

ACL is particularly important in stopping the lower leg from moving too far forward or the knee moving side to side during activity.

Photo credit: Pool | Football Arena

Most patients with these injuries present themselves to clinics a few days after the incident due to pain and swelling. These conditions make it almost impossible to perform an examination.

In Van Dijk’s case he had an acute assessment moments after the injury which made it easier to make the diagnosis.

He also had an early MRI scan which confirmed the injury.
With this kind of elite athlete where time is literally money, early surgery and immediate rehabilitation is the norm.

Extreme stiffness

He would have already started “prehabilitation” in anticipation of the surgery to prevent the knee getting stiff or weaker.

In the absence of this very early and comprehensive care, most surgeons advise waiting for a few weeks as the main concern with early surgery (first three weeks) is the risk of extreme stiffness due to scar tissue forming in the joint.

Van Dijk will likely have an arthroscopic ACL reconstruction where they will use tendon to recreate the ligament.

This may be taken from the hamstrings, the patella tendon or the quadriceps tendon.

His recovery, which will be closely supervised by a team of physiotherapists and the surgeon, will begin immediately to minimise weakness and stiffness.

The average time before returning to sports is nine to 12 months after ACL surgery.

Meniscus tear

Earlier return to action is possible in elite athletes such us  Van Dijk but there are real risks of re-injury.

The other factor that may delay return to sport is if other structures are injured in the knee. The most common additional injury is a meniscus tear. The tear may be acute or during the rehabilitation phase.

For the sake of all Liverpool and football fans, we wish Van Dijk a swift and full recovery and hope to see him playing again at the same level.

Mordicai is an orthopaedic surgeon specialising in sports injuries.