Southampton face anxious wait over Van Dijk injury

Football Soccer Britain - Southampton v Leicester City - Premier League - St Mary's Stadium - 22/1/17 Southampton's Virgil van Dijk sustains an injury Action Images via Reuters / Paul Childs Livepic

(Reuters) - Southampton's Netherlands defender Virgil van Dijk may be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after injuring his ankle in Sunday's 3-0 Premier League win over Leicester City.

Southampton fear Van Dijk, who will miss Wednesday's League Cup semi-final, second leg at Liverpool, could be out for up to three months, according to British media reports.

Asked how long Van Dijk would be ruled out, a club spokesman told Reuters: "Our assessment is still ongoing, we're waiting on completion of the scans before we can say with any certainty".

With manager Claude Puel already juggling resources after defender Jose Fonte's switch to West Ham United, a long-term injury to Van Dijk would leave his squad short in defence.

Southampton, who head into the tie at Anfield with a 1-0 lead from the first leg, host Arsenal in the FA Cup on Saturday before a Premier League trip to Swansea City three days later.

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; editing by Ken Ferris)