Virgil van Dijk has shocked Liverpool fans by describing his injury recovery following a horror tackle from Jordan Pickford as 'one of the best times of my life.'
In 2020, the Dutch defender ruptured his ACL after a nasty collision with the Everton net-minder at Goodison Park.
The Merseyside Derby incident saw van Dijk spend nearly a year on the sidelines as he recovered from the injury.
Despite the ordeal, the recently crowned Premier League champion looks back on that period fondly.
'It was one of the best times of my life,' van Dijk told GQ.
'It was tough. Mentally more than anything. You do have sleepless nights.
'You keep asking yourself, how is this gonna pan out? Will I be the same player?
'But physically, I think, because you’re an athlete, you can cope.
'It’s just – I had to do the majority of my rehab away from the club, in Dubai, so I was with my family, which was so nice.
'Seven weeks with them. I never get to do that.
'It was some of the best family time I’ve ever had.
'And, obviously, no one wants to get a serious knee injury, but that time we had was sort of worth it.'
Van Dijk recently celebrated Liverpool's title success after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham on Sunday.
He has also signed a two-year contract extension, ending speculation over his future with his old deal set to expire at the end of the season.
For all the recent good news, van Dijk admitted that focus on the injury affected him at the time.
'Every mistake, in any game, people will refer to the injury.
'I know you can do nine things right and one thing wrong, and people will only focus on that one wrong thing.
'It can mess your head up and then you lose confidence, you feel scared to make mistakes.
'Confidence is like a flower, Jürgen [Klopp] taught me that.
'So I know I have to communicate leadership just by someone looking at me.'