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After recovering from knee surgery, Virgil van Dijk was an active participant in the Premier League this year.
Virgil Van Dijk, Liverpool defender, accepts that he will be subject to a lot more scrutiny as he tries to get back to his best after a lengthy spell with a knee injury.
It has been almost a year since he was injured in a Merseyside derby challenge.
Van Dijk had to have surgery and was out of action for the remainder of last season. However, he played every minute in all eight Premier League matches this term.
He said, "I know there's a lot of eyes pointed in my direction,"
They were there before, and they will be here now more. But it's not something I think about.
"I feel like my life is improving. While I know I have work ahead of me, I don't care about what other people think or judge.
"The only thing that I can do is to try my best in every game."
Van Dijk, a Dutch international, was not able to play in Liverpool's Premier League games so far. However, he was rested for Liverpool’s first Champions League match this season. This was a 3-2 win over AC Milan on 15 September. He then played in the 5-1 victory against Porto on 28 September.
After attending Monday's press conference, he could participate in Champions League action on Tuesday.
Van Dijk claims he is not a robot who can return to his best right away, but believes that he is constantly improving.
He said, "Everybody knows how hard it is to recover from a knee injury."
"I don’t believe there are many examples of players who have sustained a complex knee injury and an ACL. He is able to return to his best after one year.
"The only way to get there is by playing games. To get better and more confident in what you do, go back to normal.
