Virgil van Dijk returns to Liverpool for next phase of ACL recovery Virgil van Dijk is back on Merseyside | Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk has left a specialist clinic in Dubai and has now returned to Anfield for the next phase of his recovery from a serious knee injury. The Dutchman, who has been out of action since October after damaging his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a collision with Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, has spent most of 2021 at the Nad al Sheba Complex in Dubai, working with several specialists to try to accelerate his recovery.