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Just when you thought Liverpool’s injury situation couldn’t get worse after the incessant flurry of bad news in recent weeks, events have taken another dystopian turn.
Joe Gomez now joins Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench after suffering what has been described as a ‘serious’ injury in England training, namely Joel Matip, who has just returned from injury and has started just four games in the last 13 months – he is now the only fit and available central defender available to Jürgen Klopp.
There’s no way to sugarcoat it – it’s a nightmare, especially for Gomez himself, who had assumed the mantle so consummate without Van Dijk by his side, and had already suffered more than his fair share of injury problems so early in his life. race. It would be hard enough to assimilate any circumstances, but the fact that it happened in an England training session during an international break that, let’s be honest, probably shouldn’t even be happening in the first place, makes for an even more bitter pill to swallow.
For Liverpool, it’s like a horror movie that just won’t end, especially when you add in the fact that they have also been without Alisson Becker, Kostas Tsimikas Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcântara, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mané for various reasons so far this season. And it’s only been a couple of months.
This team has proven its collective resilience and problem solving time and time again, but now they will have to do it more than ever.
The fact that Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips performed so impressively alongside Gomez when given the chance lately does offer Some a small amount of comfort, and both players will almost certainly be asked to step up in the coming weeks and during the festive New Year period. Hopefully, Fabinho will soon return from his hamstring injury and will be able to form a strong partnership with Matip, but even if both are available, they will not be able to play every match.
So if one thing should be very clear, it is this: Liverpool need go out to buy a quality central in January. Not just a coverage option, but one that can jump in and immediately perform at the required level this season. Y fit into the long-term plan next season and beyond. In truth, the ideal is that that player, whoever he is, is ready to go starting on January 1 so that they can integrate as soon as possible once the window opens, which, of course, means doing all the things right. bases for the transfer. in advance.
There was a very compelling case that Liverpool needed to do this anyway once the severity of Van Dijk’s injury was confirmed, and certainly next summer regardless. Those plans now have to get ahead of January, whether it’s someone with great potential (like Dayot Upamecano) or someone with a wealth of experience at the highest level, but still has a lot of miles left in the tank (like David Alaba). ). Clubs will surely look to give such assets a premium because they know so well the urgency of Liverpool’s situation, but that is something Liverpool will simply have to put up with.
Until then, Liverpool have no choice but to fight their way into January and stay on the hunt by all means possible. From now until the opening of the transfer window, they have 11 games to play: eight in the Premier League, three in the Champions League. If they can beat Atalanta at Anfield later this month, then two of those games (Ajax at home, Midtjylland away) will automatically become dead tires. In any case, the qualification should be a procedure from here.
Really, then, it’s about keeping pace in the league, and while there are absolutely no ‘bankers’, particularly in this most unpredictable season, the majority of the next eight games are Liverpool’s. should win, even with a heavily patched defense. Leicester City, Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur are apparently the toughest of all, but the match schedule could have been far more problematic for Liverpool during this period.
How long Gomez will ultimately be around remains to be seen, but early indications suggest Liverpool will have to carry on without him for a significant amount of time. If the decision to move to a central in January has not yet been made, then this should really confirm it. Now is the time for Michael Edwards and others to put the wheels in motion.
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