Jordan Pickford is “really sad” to have forced Virgil van Dijk under the knife, says Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti, with a knee-high tackle on the Liverpool defender considered to have been nothing more than “mistimed”.
The Toffees’ England international goalkeeper clattered into the Dutch defender early on at Goodison Park.
Van Dijk did get back to his feet, but he was in no position to continue and is now facing up to several months on the sidelines with cruciate ligament damage.
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Pickford has seen his wild lunge widely condemned, with many bemused as to how he avoided any form of punishment, but Ancelotti insists there was no malice on the part of his player and that Liverpool were merely the victims of an unfortunate sporting incident.