Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk accepts he will continue to be under a lot of scrutiny as he looks to get back to his best following a long spell out with a knee injury.

It is almost a year since he was hurt in a challenge in the Merseyside derby.

Van Dijk required surgery that ruled him out for the rest of last season, but he has played every minute of all eight Premier League games this term.

“I know there are a lot of eyes pointing in my direction,” he said.

“They were already before but will be now even more, but it’s something I’m not thinking about.

“I feel like I am improving. I have work to do but I don’t think about what others have to say or judge.

“The only thing I can do is try my best each and every game.”

Despite playing every game in the Premier League so far, Netherlands international Van Dijk was rested for Liverpool’s first Champions League game this season – a 3-2 win against AC Milan on 15 September – but played in the 5-1 win against Porto on 28 September.

He could be involved in Champions League action again on Tuesday, having attended Monday’s news conference before the game against Atletico Madrid.

Van Dijk says he is “not a robot” who can be back to his best immediately but believes he is improving with every game.

“Everybody knows how difficult it is to come back from a knee injury,” he added.

“I don’t think there are a lot of examples of players who had an ACL and complex knee injury that gets back to his best after a year.

“The only thing to get there is to play games, to get better, to get more confident in the things you do, get back to normal things.”