Why Virgil van Dijk has not travelled with Liverpool squad to face Toulouse
- Liverpool face Toulouse in matchday four's Europa League action on Thursday
- Reds will have to cope without centre-back Van Dijk, who has not even travelled with the squad
- Jurgen Klopp has backed Jarell Quansah to take his place
By Tom Gott
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Virgil van Dijk has been left at home for Thursday's meeting with Toulouse after coming down with an illness.
The Reds head to France sitting top of Group E with nine points from their first three games, but they will have to navigate matchday four without Van Dijk, who was taken ill in the build-up to the game.
Fortunately for Liverpool fans, Klopp confirmed that Van Dijk's illness is not a serious one and his absence stems more from a desire to avoid the bug spreading around the squad.
"Virgil is a little bit ill, it will not be a big thing but we didn’t want him on the plane and maybe others have it a little bit as well," said Klopp. "That’s why we left him at home. It should be all right for the weekend."
Brentford are due at Anfield on Sunday, with a trip to Manchester City on the cards the following weekend, and Klopp is clearly keen to avoid taking any unnecessary risks ahead of such a significant fixture.
Van Dijk was an unused substitute in each of Liverpool's last two Europa League games as Klopp has preferred to use his fringe players in the competition, with Joel Matip and Joe Gomez starting last month's 5-1 victory over Toulouse.
This time around, however, Klopp is considering turning to 20-year-old Jarell Quansah, who has already managed seven appearances for the Liverpool first team this season after taking the manager by surprise in pre-season.
"If you would have asked me pre-season [if] he would be that good I would have been surprised but since then I saw him every day and I am not surprised any more." Klopp confessed.
"It’s great to have a boy from our own academy with that potential and quality. We will see where he ends up but it is extremely promising. There was talk about him going on loan and we said no – that was obviously a very good decision."
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