The flight back to Liverpool was a long, heavy, and almost completely silent affair. The players, who had celebrated a famous win just hours before, were now a somber, worried family, their thoughts consumed by one thing, and one thing only: their fallen captain.
The news, when it came the next morning, was as brutal and as devastating as everyone had feared. Arne Slot gathered the team in the briefing room at the AXA Training Centre.
His face was grim, his usual calm, analytical energy replaced by a deep, human sadness.
"I have just come from the hospital," he began, his voice low. "I have spoken with Virgil. The scans have confirmed a full rupture of his anterior cruciate ligament. He will undergo surgery next week. His season," he said, the words landing like a physical blow, "is over."
