Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk knows he is being closely watched to see how well he has recovered from knee surgery but feels he still has plenty of room for improvement.
It is exactly a year to the day since the Netherlands captain was given the diagnosis by a specialist he would require an operation on an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his right knee, after a challenge by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the Merseyside derby, and his season was over.
After a full pre-season the Dutchman has played every minute of all eight Premier League matches so far, although he was rested for two Champions League ties against AC Milan and Porto as manager Jurgen Klopp was cautious not to overload his defensive linchpin.
The Reds boss may not have that option against LaLiga champions Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night but Van Dijk is confident there is still more to come from him.
“I know there are a lot of eyes pointing in my direction, wondering ‘Is he going to be back in the same way’,” he said.
“They were already before but will be now even more, but it’s something I’m not thinking about. The only thing I can do is try my best each and every game.
“Everybody knows how difficult it is to come back from a knee injury. I don’t think there are a lot of examples of players who had an ACL and complex knee injury that gets back to his best after a year.
“I feel like I am improving. I have work to do but I don’t think about what others have to say or judge.
“The only thing to get there is to play games, to get better, to get more confident in the things you do, get back to normal things.
“I am not a robot. I’m my own biggest critic and I know exactly when I can do better.
“How I see it is to just improve as much as I can and I’m fairly confident in the way I see things.
“I’m playing at the highest level again, playing with a lot of joy, so far it is going in the right way and I am feeling fine but there is always room for improvement.”
