In England, Virgil van Dijk offered his support to Liverpool’s teenage star Harvey Elliott after the 18-year-old midfielder suffered a dislocated left ankle that overshadowed an impressive 3-0 for the Reds at Leeds.

Leeds midfielder Pascal Struijk was sent-off for a challenge from behind on Elliott midway through the second-half. By that point, Liverpool were already comfortably ahead thanks to Mohamed Salah’s 100th Premier League goal and Fabinho’s 50th minute strike.

Sadio Mane rounded off the scoring in stoppage time as Liverpool joined Manchester United and Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table on 10 points from four games.

However, the loss of Elliott cast a dark cloud over a positive performance for Jurgen Klopp.

Elliott, who made his Premier League debut as a 16-year-old for Fulham, had broken into the Reds side with impressive early season displays against Burnley and Chelsea.

Van Dijk’s own long-term injury derailed Liverpool’s title defense last season when he suffered cruciate ligament damage in his right knee.

“All our thoughts and prayers are going to Harvey. Hopefully he recovers quickly and as good as possible from it,” said Van Dijk. “The good thing is I’ve experienced it with all the players, the staff, everyone around Liverpool, the fans, that they had my back in the difficult times too. I’m 100 percent sure we’re all going to be there for him.”