Netherlands international Virgil van Dijk admits that he reached out to former club teammate Sadio Mane.
The Bayern Munich attacker has been confirmed to miss the World Cup with Senegal due to a leg injury.
As Van Dijk prepares to take on the African nation on Monday, he admitted to feeling conflicted about his old Liverpool colleague being unable to play.
“Yes I called him [immediately after the injury],” said the Dutch captain.
“I wanted to know how he was because there was so many rumours.
“Unfortunately at the time it was not the best news. I feel sad for him, I know how hard he works for this, and he has been important for Senegal.
“He’s obviously a big miss for them, but hopefully we can benefit from that a little.”
