Mauricio Pellegrino has backed Virgil van Dijk to keep improving as he nears his Premier League comeback for Southampton, which could come on Saturday's trip to Crystal Palace.
The 26-year-old defender returned to action on Monday night in their Premier League 2 defeat at Aston Villa, having missed a large part of last season with an ankle injury, and Pellegrino said he will make a late decision on whether he will feature at Selhurst Park or not.
"Virgil was training well, he played 90 minutes the other day in a game, but we will decide," the Saints manager told Southamptonfc.com.
"Hopefully he will be getting better every single week, but I am happy with that, because it's not about just Virgil. Everybody I think right now is ready to be part of the team."
#SaintsFC boss Mauricio Pellegrino delivers a team news update ahead of the trip to #CPFC: https://t.co/GQUCXfJYCx
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) September 14, 2017
