Liverpool vs Southampton: Virgil van Dijk a doubt for huge EFL Cup semi-final, admits Claude Puel
Saints defender picked up a knock against Leicester and scan results suggest Reds clash will come too soon
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CLAUDE PUEL admits he is sweating on the fitness of captain Virgil van Dijk ahead of the biggest game of the season.
The Dutchman has been sent for a scan picked up against Leicester on Sunday which in itself suggests he is fighting a losing battle to face Liverpool in Wednesday's EFL Cup semi-final.
It means rookie centre half Jack Stephens or little-used Florin Gardos may be drafted in as an emergency with Saints holding a 1-0 lead going into the second leg.
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Boss Puel said: “It’s not a serious injury but I don’t know if he can participate in this game. We will have to see tomorrow. He got a good kick on the ankle.”
Saints midfielder Dusan Tadic has pleaded with the Frenchman to abandon his famous squad rotation policy to give the team the best chance of making it to Wembley.
Puel is yet to keep an unchanged team in two successive games since taking over in the summer and has made 200 changes since August.
Tadic said: “Sometimes players are tired, but most of the time we are ready to play every three days and we play from the beginning of the season.
“For us, this is not a problem but the coach decides. My opinion is that you need to have always the best team out on the pitch in that moment. Personally I don’t need a rest.”
Puel looks set to make changes though as Liverpool have had 24 extra hours to recover physically if not mentally from Saturday’s shock 3-2 home defeat by Swansea in the Premier League.
He said: “It’s an important game, exciting. Liverpool will have one day more recovery and it’s important with all this games.
“It’s a good thing for the confidence with the last game to stop these four lost in the Premier League and it was interesting of course to prepare this game in a good mentality.
“We know this game with be difficult against a great team, great players. They lost their last game in the Premier League against Swansea and they will want to react and of course to do a second leg with a strong game.
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“It’s important for us to stay with good focus about our game, our play, to play with good calm and quality and not think of a good result.
“We are in a situation it is not sufficient to stay just one goal up. It will be important to score a goal away.
“We will start with a good team, like every game. I don’t know for the moment the team at the start because we have some problems with injuries.”