Gini Wijnaldum admits he was struggling with illness even during Liverpool's win over Bournemouth – as he revealed his ongoing battle with a knee problem.

Wijnaldum climbed off his sickbed to deliver a man-of-the-match performance in the Reds' 3-0 win at Anfield on Saturday.

The Dutchman, who scored Liverpool's second, had been banished from the team hotel the night before the game so not to infect his team-mates.

And the midfielder has lifted the lid on how close he came to not playing.

“Thursday night I had a tablet from the doctor for my knee,” said Wijnaldum. “It was a tablet that could induce stomach pains.

“I took it and I had a pain and thought it was from the tablet. In the end I was vomiting and everyone was a little bit scared.

“I didn't train on Friday and I didn't sleep at the hotel either because they thought I might infect other players.

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“The manager called me and said 'do you think you can play?'. I said I was as positive as I can.

Klopp speaks to the press after Liverpool's 3-0 win over Bournemouth

“In the morning I was still weak and had diarrhoea I must say the tablets helped a lot.

“But even at half-time I had to run off to get to the toilet. I was like, 'Oh no!'. I ran inside and I managed to control it!”

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Wijnaldum missed last Monday's draw at West Ham United with the knee problem that also saw him sit out the win over Crystal Palace last month.

The Dutchman admits he is still being troubled by injury but is hopeful of managing the issue throughout the remainder of the campaign.

“It was a bit painful,” he said. “We played Leicester and it was good. Played two, three games and it was painful again.

“Then we played West Ham and it was painful again. I rested again and it was good.

“Now we have to see how it recovers. We have 10 games to the next game and it must be all right.”

Liverpool's comprehensive dismissal of Bournemouth ended talk of a mini-crisis after the successive 1-1 draws against Leicester City and West Ham.

And Wijnaldum, whose goal was only his second of the season and his first at Anfield since October 2017, said: “It is always a good response when you win. Three goals and a clean sheet makes it even better. We must make sure we respond every game, not just one game.

“If we had been told that at the beginning you will have this kind of points everyone will have taken it. It could be better. But we must appreciate where we stand.”

Liverpool, who will spend much of the week at a warm-weather training camp in Spain, are without a game until Tuesday week when they entertain Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.

(Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

And Wijnaldum is confident the resumption of European competition won't hamper the Reds' Premier League ambitions.

“We have to see how it is going to work,” he said. “I think we can play both. We are fit.

Keep up to date with all the reaction to Liverpool's win and transfer rumours here

“You never know but a lot of ties it goes well. Last season the Champions League went well and we dropped a lot of points in the league.

“I don't think it was because of the Champions' League.”