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Virgil van Dijk to make Southampton return on Monday

Virgil van Dijk of Southampton
Image: Virgil van Dijk will be back in a Southampton shirt on Monday

Mauricio Pellegrino has revealed Southampton captain Virgil van Dijk will play for the reserves on Monday as he continues to build up his match fitness.

The Holland international has been reintegrated into the senior squad having been training on his own after handing in a transfer request at the start of August.

Van Dijk, 26, had made it clear he wanted the club to take up the interest from Liverpool, who issued a public apology in June following suggestions of an improper approach for the centre-back.

He has been out of first-team action since sustaining a serious ankle injury on January 22 but will feature for Southampton's second string against Aston Villa at the Bescot Stadium.

"Virgil is coming from a long period of time without playing a game. This is my concern right now," said Pellegrino.

"He will play Monday in the reserve team. We try to help him to be ready to help the team.

"He was training well this week. Now everything is normal."

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Southampton 0-2 Watford highlights

Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger had been adamant that Van Dijk was not for sale in the summer and said keeping the defender was "the statement we need to make".

The club will be hoping the Dutchman can get up to speed quickly as debutant Wesley Hoedt, a compatriot of Van Dijk's who was handed his chance at the heart of the Saints defence against Watford, endured a tough time against Andre Gray in the 2-0 home defeat to the Hornets.

Wesley Hoedt of Southampton during the Premier League match between the Saints and Watford at St Mary's Stadium on Sep 9
Image: Wesley Hoedt endured a rough Southampton debut at St Mary's against Watford

"It is a message that at this moment, we don't need to sell our best players, and we need to keep our best players to be more competitive," Pellegrino, appointed in the summer following the sacking of Claude Puel, said earlier this week.

"It is a message from the owners, the board, our chairman and directors, it is really good.

"We are now in a situation where making a small step will be really difficult for us, and to achieve this, we had to keep our best players, to work with them and to build a team, that is the most difficult thing."

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