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Is the World Cup distracting Liverpool? Van Dijk assesses Reds' poor start in 2022-23 & denies injury fears

Virgil van Dijk has insisted that Liverpool's slow start to the season has nothing to do with the squad being distracted by the upcoming World Cup.

Reds have just nine Premier League points
Van Dijk denies World Cup is affecting them
Defender in Nations League action this week

WHAT HAPPENED? Van Dijk is adamant that he and his teammates are firmly focused on club matters for the time being. The defender has also denied that he is concerned about missing the Qatar tournament, having been ruled out of Euro 2020 with a knee injury.

WHAT THEY SAID: Van Dijk told a press conference when asked if the upcoming World Cup was affecting Liverpool's performances: "We are not in the situation because of that. I understand, because of the start we had, everyone is looking for 'why?' because the difference (to last season) is too big, but I can assure you that is definitely not one of the reasons. You focus on the game at the time and that's definitely what we're doing."

The 31-year-old added on the suggestion he fears another injury setback: "I want to go but to be ready, in my opinion, is not to focus on hopefully not getting injured, it is just to keep playing, get fit, stay fit and get in a good moment. If you think about this (getting injured), I think you are going to have issues in my opinion."

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THE BIGGER PICTURE: Liverpool are currently all the way down in eighth with only nine points from their first six Premier League games. They were also on the receiving end of a 4-1 Champions League battering by Napoli earlier this month.

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