Virgil van Dijk absence explained as defender misses FA Cup clash

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Virgil van Dijk was absent from the Liverpool squad that faced off against Arsenal on Sunday evening.

For the second time in the space of a month, the two sides face off against each other but this time around, in the FA Cup.

Their original encounter just before Christmas at Anfield saw the game finish a 1-1 draw after a Gabriel Magalhaes header was cancelled out by a Mohammed Salah strike.

With the two teams now meeting in the FA Cup, both managers have decided to make a number of changes with some voluntary while others were forced.

Gabriel Jesus missed out on a place for the Gunners with a slight knee problem while Van Dijk was not named in the Liverpool squad.

Many supporters feared that he may have suffered an injury himself but according to Jurgen Klopp, he is currently ill.

“Virg is ill. We were actually kind of lucky in the last two, three weeks because a lot of staff had it but not the players.” He told the BBC.

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