Former Liverpool head physio Dave Galley doesn't believe Virgil van Dijk will play again this season.
The Dutch international has been out injured since suffering an ACL tear during the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on October 17.
Galley, who worked as a part of the club's medical department between 2001 and 2005, told the Blood Red podcast: "The ACL injury is an injury that has been around a long time but a few years ago it was that if you tore your ACL, that was it and you were finished.
"Initially, it meant a trip to Richard Steadman over in the States but slowly, more and more surgeons in this country have taken up the mantle doing the same operation.
"ACL injuries are getting more and more prevalent these days but the surgery is getting better and better.
"Eight to nine months is right for a player to have a decent recovery and a lot of players will recover in that timescale.
"But it is the following 12-18 months where you can get a recurrence and that is where you need to get the leg as strong as possible in every aspect."
