Virgil van Dijk a Doubt for Liverpool Clash vs. Leicester Due to Illness

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is a doubt for their clash against Leicester City on Wednesday evening as he continues to fight an illness he picked up after the team's recent warm-weather training in Dubai.

Manager Jurgen Klopp told reporters van Dijk "was a bit ill," but noted the defender "should train today and then we will see." Earlier on Tuesday, James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo wrote Van Dijk is unlikely to line up against the Foxes unless he trains on Tuesday.

Jurgen Klopp's side are four points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League standings, with Pep Guardiola's defending champions set to host Arsenal on Sunday. 

The Reds' last result was a 4-3 Premier League win over Crystal Palace on January 19.

Despite there being no positive update as of yet regarding Van Dijk, injury analyst Ben Dinnery provided some good news for Liverpool's defence ahead of Leicester's visit:

England international Joe Gomez remains sidelined after fracturing his leg in December, though Joel Matip recently recovered after a period on the sidelines and played 90 minutes in the win over Palace. Dejan Lovren has also been sidelined with a hamstring injury but returned to training last week.

Liverpool have transformed during Van Dijk's first full season at the club and developed into the best defence in England's top flight, conceding a league-low 13 goals in 23 matches so far.

At this stage of last season—by which point Van Dijk had only played one league game for Liverpool—they had conceded 28 goals and had the second-worst defensive record in the top six.

It's the kind of impact one might expect to see after spending £75 million to make him the most expensive defender of all time, though the arrival of £70 million goalkeeper Alisson Becker has also helped in that regard.

A BT Sport Score panel of Robbie Savage, Rachel Brown-Finnis and Chris Sutton debated whether Van Dijk may be the best Dutchman to have played in England:

Liverpool should still be able to fend off the Foxes, who have lost four of their last five games in all competitions since beating Chelsea and Manchester City in back-to-back fixtures.

As well as recruiting higher-quality personnel, Liverpool's mentality has changed under Klopp, and Van Dijk recently spoke about the coach's impact in encouraging his stars to reach a higher level, per Anfield HQ:

The centre-back is yet to miss a minute of Liverpool's Premier League or UEFA Champions League campaigns this season.