David Meyler joined Thursday's Football Show on Off The Ball, where spoke about Virgil van Dijk and his long recovery from injury.
Meyler suffered a series of knee injuries that ultimately ended his playing career, so is - unfortunately - familiar with the process van Dijk is facing.
"I've been there, I've been on that road. It's tough, you have to believe. There's no doubt he'll get back from it.
"It's not like the 1980s, where that injury would have finished you. There are so many medical staff and surgeons, I have no doubt they will be able to fix him up.
"He needs to wrap his head around the mental challenge of 'I'm out for this significant period, what do I need to do?'
"There will be days when he feels like there is no light at the end of the tunnel, where you're struggling. You're sore, you're stiff, you have to get up and motivate yourself.
"If the lads have a big game at the weekend, it's a game you want to be a part of. or special European nights.
"He'll be fine, work hard, keep the head down. He'll be back."
Long process for Virgil
Once the surgery is done there is a long steady process to get back to training, according to Meyler.
"It's just a case of how your body can adapt because every step you are increasing your load so putting that demand on your knee is tough.
"If you look at Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, he had a little setback so please God, Virgil has none of that."
Dealing with rehab and recovery process is long and can be lonely, Meyler says setting achievable goals help him mentally survive.
"Virgil just needs to sit down and work out what he wants, everyone is different. I set out goals for myself: 'After six weeks I want to be here, at eight weeks I want to be here.'
"Luckily enough for my two cruciate injuries I was at each stage. I didn't set myself goals that were not attainable. I could achieve all of them as long as I worked hard, but it is tough.
"Going training, you are with all the players, in the same changing room you are eating with them. But then they go out to train and you are stuck there in the gym."
My best friend
During this part of the recovery process, Meyler made a lifelong friend.
"That's where the medical staff are huge. I always remember at Sunderland, I had a physio who inevitably became my best friend. We went through everything together," recalled Meyler.
"When I got good news from a surgeon, he was the one that was always with me, he was always there. When I got bad news from a surgeon.
"If I could go back into training for another two or three weeks. He would say the right thing, he was there with me the whole time.
"So you need, good people, and he will have good people around him that will drive him on and then it's just not to lose focus of what the end goal is.
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