Virgil van Dijk will forego Euro 2020 in a bid to step up his Liverpool recovery.
Van Dijk has not featured for Jurgen Klopp’s side since a knee ligament injury in October’s Merseyside derby ruled him out for the remainder of the season.
The defender’s marked progress during rehabilitation led to suggestions that he could return in time to make Holland’s squad for this summer’s Finals.
However Van Dijk confirmed on Wednesday that he has instead taken the decision to focus on being available for the start of the Reds’ new campaign.
“Things have been going well, I’ve not had a real setback or anything, I’ve just progressed nicely,” he told Liverpool’s official website.
“In this latest stage for myself, I have come to a decision that I had to make: would I be involved in the Euros, yes or no?
“With everything that is going on, I feel physically it is the right decision that I’ve decided not to go to the Euros and to go into my last phase of rehab during the off-season.
“Obviously I am very gutted to miss the Euros, to miss the European Championship and leading out my own country there.
“But things have been like they have and I have to accept it – we all have to accept it.
“I think the decision to not go is the right decision in the grand scheme of things. It’s tough, but I’m at peace with it.”
He added: “Obviously I want to be back out there.
“I want to be helping my team-mates, helping my country in this case and I obviously want to help the club.
“But I think it’s the right thing to do to stay a little bit more patient and work even harder during the off-season and get ready.”