Liverpool fans could have been forgiven for fearing the worst when Curtis Jones hit the deck during the closing stages of the Reds’ 2-1 victory over Fulham.
The 22-year-old, who equalised for Jurgen Klopp’s men on the night in the first leg of the League Cup semi-finals, was in considerable pain as he finished proceedings with a heavy limp.
Considering Liverpool’s ever-growing injury list, with eight players currently sidelined and 10 absent in total if you include internationals, the last thing the Reds need is another enforced absence.
Fortunately, Klopp would play down any such injury fears when speaking after the final whistle.
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“He has made big steps. He looked like the fittest player on the whole pitch,” the German said. “He got a knock, I think a dead leg, he went down, but then a second later he turned around and scored.
“A good footballer, very, very good. He always was but using these skills, he is now for me, for him, for everybody thank god, doing it consistently. That is really cool.
“He made big steps in defensive things, which gives him a better feeling for the game. It is a joy to have the boy around because he has this natural scouse confidence and it is really cool.”
While a dead leg would have perhaps made Jones a doubt were Liverpool back in action this weekend, the Premier League winter break ensures he has plenty of time to recover, if needed, before the Reds return to action at AFC Bournemouth on January 21.
Regardless of the severity of any knock, Klopp has had to grow accustomed to losing his players to in-game injuries in recent weeks as their intense schedule, hand-in-hand with the growing list of absentees, continues to take its toll.
Liverpool have played 13 matches since the November international break, winning nine and drawing three with the only defeat being a Europa League dead-rubber to Union SG.
Across those matches, they have lost eight players to in-game injuries. And such a total rises to nine if you include the knee injury Ben Doak suffered when playing for the Under-21s against Chelsea.
Diogo Jota and Alisson Becker would both suffer hamstring injuries against Man City, while Joel Matip ruptured his ACL against Fulham at the start of December. Alexis Mac Allister then suffered a leg injury against Sheffield United, while Ryan Gravenberch was forced off against Manchester United due to muscle fatigue.
Kostas Tsimikas broke his collarbone against Arsenal before Dominik Szoboszlai suffered a hamstring injury against Newcastle United on New Year’s Day. And Trent Alexander-Arnold then suffered a knee injury of his own in the FA Cup third round trip to Arsenal – a game which captain Virgil van Dijk missed through illness to add to Klopp’s walking wounded.
Of course, some of these aforementioned setbacks are a lot more serious than others. Matp has been ruled out until the end of the season, while Gravenberch only sat out one match for example.
And while ‘only’ five of those nine are currently still sidelined (Matip, Tsimikas, Szoboszlai, Alexander-Arnold, and Doak) Liverpool’s absence list, currently standing at 10 players, is not getting any shorter. Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, and Andy Robertson all remain long-term absentees due to injury, while Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo are currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations and Asian Cup respectively.
Yet there is light at the end of the tunnel, it seems. Should the Reds get through the rest of the month unscathed, continuing to avoid further scares à la Jones, then reinforcements will ride to their rescue in February. As things stand, they could welcome back eight players by the end of next month.
The Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations both conclude on the weekend of February 10 and 11. Consequently, Endo and Salah will return after such dates, if not sooner depending on the progress of Japan and Egypt.
When it comes to Klopp’s injured players, Szoboszlai has suggested he could be fit to return against AFC Bournemouth later this month. Should the Hungarian not make the trip to the South Coast, then he is targeting the League Cup semi-final second leg at Fulham on January 24.
“I am still running without a ball, but soon I will be able to carefully try training with a ball,” he told Nemzeti Sport after being crowned Hungarian Sportsman of The Year for the second time. “I am getting better.
“Yes, it’s possible (that I will return against Bournemouth), but we don’t want to rush anything. I’d rather miss one more match, if that’s what it takes, so that I don’t injure the previous strain and can play continuously.”
Meanwhile, when previewing Liverpool’s League Cup semi-final clash with Fulham, Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders revealed Alexander-Arnold’s expected lay-off time before sharing that Robertson, Tsimikas, Thiago, and Bajcetic are all closing in on returns to training in the weeks ahead.
“Trent hyperextended his knee during the last game,” said the Dutchman. “So he has a little tear in the lateral ligament of his knee and he will need time to recover. He had a scan…
“He will be out for probably three weeks. It is a big blow, one of the most important players, he is always decisive. Even in bad spells he took the balls to make the difference. Hopefully three weeks and a winter break (will help).”
He continued: “And then we have Robbo, he’s almost at the three-month mark, so he will get checked by the surgeon. And if he does that scan and we see everything (so) that we can really progress him, he will go to Dubai for a week to do proper volume sessions, proper sessions.
“So that will be good for him. Then we see the three-month-mark scan and then we can see how quick he can go into contact again.
“Same for Kostas. Kostas is progressing really well, really quick. So hopefully both of them, Robbo and Kostas, will be back at the end of this month to train with the team.
“They (Thiago and Bajcetic) will not be ready for the end of this month. It will probably be going into the next month to train with us. But both (with) no complications, progressing.”
Finally, there is a return date for the Reds’ longest-term absentees. Consequently, should the aforementioned octet all return to training by February, as things stand, Klopp would only be left without the services of Matip and Doak as his side edge towards the business end of the season.
Granted, there is still plenty of football to be played before then with Liverpool currently scheduled to take part in eight matches before the end of February, but the Reds boss will have everything crossed that the end of his side’s injury woes are in sight.
Of course, if Liverpool do navigate these next weeks successfully, then their campaign will again earn comparisons to the 2021/22 season. That year, the Reds won both the League Cup and FA Cup, took the Premier League title to the final day of the season only to miss out to Man City by a solitary point, and lost in the Champions League final to Real Madrid.
Their quadruple charge coincided with the January signing of Luis Diaz from FC Porto, before welcoming back a plethora of injured players. As a result, it was a regular occurrence to see the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Takumi Minamino, Divock Origi, Joe Gomez, and Harvey Elliott left out of Klopp’s matchday squad despite being available for selection.
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