Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo return confirmed but duo will miss next two Liverpool games

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Liverpool has confirmed the return of Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo to training, but the pair will still be missing for the Reds' next two pre-season friendliesVirgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo have returned to training with Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo are back in training as Liverpool’s squad steps up its preparations for the new season.The pair were pictured at the Reds’ AXA Training Centre in Kirkby on Tuesday morning, with both players beginning their summer training on Merseyside before being reunited with the rest of their teammates.Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Ryan Gravenberch joined Andoni Iraola’s squad out in Chicago earlier this week, and will be available to play the remaining two games of Liverpool’s US tour against Wrexham and Leeds. Van Dijk and Gakpo will not be joining them Stateside though.Iraola explained last week that the pair, along with Alisson Becker, will start training back at Liverpool’s UK base as their workload is managed, with Van Dijk in particular having had a busy year after playing every Premier League game last season.Both players were part of the Netherlands’ squad at the recent World Cup, along with Gravenberch, with the Dutch going out at the last-32 stage after defeat to Morocco.

Gakpo played that game despite he and his partner losing their son during pregnancy, with he and Van Dijk now given the chance to ease their way back into action.“They will, in terms of dates of training, be very similar but they will start training at the AXA in Liverpool,” Iraola explained.Content cannot be displayed without consent“Because of different reasons, especially Virgil because he has been the player with most minutes in Europe I would say, and Cody for other reasons, they are going to start training basically in the same week as the others but instead of making them come here with the team, we considered that it was sensible with them to start the first week training with a small group or even with younger players that are at the AXA and join us when we [return].”Van Dijk and Gakpo’s return means Liverpool is just waiting for three more players following their involvement at the World Cup.Goalkeeper Alisson should be next to report back, with his Brazil side having gone a stage further than the Netherlands before falling to Norway in the last-16, meaning he will still be a few days away from a return.Get Liverpool's new 2026/27 home kitThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn moreLiverpool FC have launched their new home kit for the 2026/27, inspired by iconic adidas strip worn during the club's 1989/90 title-winning campaign.Alexis Mac Allister and new signing Victor Munoz, meanwhile, will have to wait even longer, and may only be able to fit in one pre-season friendly before the new campaign starts, having been involved in the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain.Liverpool faces Wrexham next in New York on Wednesday, before returning to Chicago to take on Leeds in the final game of the US tour.From there, Iraola’s side will return to Merseyside, where they will face Monaco at Anfield on August 9 before two games against Como on August 16, with the Premier League season getting underway a week later on August 23 at Newcastle.