Liverpool is now on the brink of an injury crisis, as they have been for some time.
The reds currently lack seven senior players, with newcastle united, tottenham hotspur, and chelsea the only other teams in the top half of the table missing more. Jurgen klopp’s squad has been able to cope with their own absences much better than the above trio, though they continue to soldier on and compete on multiple fronts.
Alexis mac allister was the first liverpool player to be added to the injury list on wednesday night after suffering a knee injury against sheffield united. Jurgen klopp has since admitted that it “doesn’t look good,” but that it’s unknown if the argentine will be fit for next weekend’s match against manchester united. Beyond the world cup winner, diogo jota, andy robertson, thiago alcantara, and stefan bajcetic are all long-term absentees, with the brazilian likely in contention to return to crystal palace after recovering from a hamstring injury against man city last month.
The shot-stopper is just one of a slew of starters who have had to endure enforced absences this season. Only kostas tsimikas, dominik szoboszlai, harvey elliott, and darwin nunez have made up liverpool’s matchday squad this season, with only a senior first team squad of 26 players included.
Adrian, wataru endo, and mohamed salah have all been ruled out of enforced layoffs, while luis diaz was able to take compassionate leave after his parents’ kidnapping in his native colombia, which has since been repeated at some point in the current season.
After each of those tie, they have reportedly lost players after four games in a streak of 12 matches over 43 days, starting on november 25th and january 7. With klopp’s squad’s pressures only going to increase in the coming weeks as english football’s overcrowded festive season, one can’t help but wonder who will be the next.
With a win over crystal palace on saturday lunchtime, moving to the europa league round-of-16 with a game to spare and a goal to advance to the league cup quarter-finals against west ham united later this month, it is a testament to the reds’ versatility and quality that such absences have not stifled their progress at any time this season.
This is the club’s remarkable response to last season’s tumultuous transitional season, with an ageing squad. klopp isn’t alone in his praise of his players’ difficult schedules. This liverpool 2.0 squad is solid, but one or two january signings could make it even better. It can be the difference between being ambitious title hopefuls and real title hopefuls.
The reds may have had no reason to complain about their injury woes so far this season, but they should not risk allowing them to become an excuse after january. Historically, sticking rather than twisting has been a gamble that has failed to pay dividends, and they will learn their lesson this time.
