Southampton have suffered a major blow with the defender Virgil van Dijk ruled out of the game against Manchester United in the EFL Cup final. The player has suffered a serious ankle injury. United are likely to be celebrating at this news considering that Van Dijk is one of the important players for the south coast outfit. Van Dijk was linked with a move to United and Chelsea for the last few months. Even though a move did not materialise, the player is widely expected to leave the club in the summer.
Van Dijk, though, would have been hoping to help Southampton lift the League Cup title for the first time in the club’s history. Southampton’s major honour would be the FA Cup that the club won in the 1975/76 season. Even though they were crowned as the Football League Trophy winner in the 2009-10 season, winning the League Cup would spark tremendous celebrations amongst fans.
Manchester United were favourites coming into the game, and the odds would only move further in favour of the Red Devils with the news of Van Dijk’s absence. The defender suffered an injury in the recent win over Leicester. It was expected that he would return sooner rather than later, but tests on the injury have revealed that it is a much more serious problem and that the player may not return to the first-team action until the end of the season. Southampton manager Claude Puel admitted that the team will certainly miss the leadership qualities of the player.
“He will not be available for many weeks, two or three months,” Southampton manager Claude Puel was quoted by the Sun.
“It’s an important problem and difficult for us. He is important for the group and the fans with his quality and leadership.
“It’s a blow but we will find a solution. For the semi-final second leg against Liverpool we got a fantastic result without him and we will continue with other possibilities.
“Ryan Bertrand can play in this position, and we will see with young players like Jack Stephens. We have possibilities.”
Jose Mourinho has claimed that Manchester United are not so strong in terms of squad strength due to the number of games. Qualification to the fifth round of the FA Cup and the upcoming Europa League knockout stages will take a lot out of the squad. The club will also have to focus on finishing in the top four. It is estimated that Manchester United could face up to 30 games while table leaders Chelsea will potentially face up to 20 games even if that is the FA Cup final – their only involvement in the competition other than the Premier League.
Irrespective of the number of games, Mourinho will field a strong line-up as he aims to win the first major trophy of his United regime. Much of the success that the Portuguese achieved at Chelsea started on the back of a League Cup success. United’s form could not have dropped at a much worse time. Despite going unbeaten in more than 10 games across all competitions, the club have drawn their last three league matches.
