I have been learning from Virgil van Dijk - Liverpool's Joe Gomez

England's Joe Gomez sees himself as a sponge soaking up lessons from Virgil van Dijk the world's most expensive defender.

Gomez was injured less than 10 minutes into Friday's head to head with Van Dijk's Netherlands, but will continue to be monitored by the FA's medical staff ahead of Tuesday's Wembley clash with Italy. Van Dijk's £75m move to Liverpool may have slowed Gomez's long-term ambitions of a move from right-back to centre-half but he does not see his team-mate as an obstacle.

He said “I didn't see it as blocking my path or anything like that. It's a great opportunity to learn from him, I am not overly stressing about it or paranoid about other people coming in. It's great to be in environments where I can learn from players like that. I am just trying to soak it all up and be the best sponge I can be. I think he has a great presence, everyone sees that. He is very dominant in the way he plays and his body language shows that he has quality on the ball.”