Liverpool’s injury fortunes have been found to be lacking through much of the 2022/23 campaign so far, a reality fans hope to see changed for the rest.
A new virus sweeping through England appears to have added to the club’s woes after the World Cup, although it is muscular issues, as always, that take center stage in the latest injury update.
James Milner – ‘out for a couple of games’
James Milner was the first to succumb to injury in the Reds’ first competitive match after Argentina’s success in Qatar.
The Englishman was forced off the pitch with a hamstring problem which the midfielder initially did not feel was a major concern.
However, Jurgen Klopp’s update on the matter ahead of a Boxing Day trip to Villa Park has clarified the matter.
“Millie hasn’t improved since then, she’s out for a couple of games,” the German told reporters (quoted by liverpoolfc.com).
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Trent Alexander-Arnold: ‘not part of full session’
Trent Alexander-Arnold was one of the unfortunate recipients of the ‘virus’, which seems destined to rule out the club’s top playmaker on the right flank from our clash with Unai Emery’s men in a couple of days.
“Hopefully Trent will be better; he was not part of the whole session but of parts, let’s see how that develops until tomorrow. That’s it,” the former Mainz boss spoke ahead of our Boxing Day clash with Aston Villa (via liverpoolfc.com).
We’ll cross our fingers that the virus stops with our 24-year-old fullback.
Bobby Firmino – ‘will see day to day with him’
Bobby Firmino was sadly ruled out of the 3-2 defeat at Manchester thanks to a minor calf injury that Liverpool were not comfortable risking exacerbating on the day.
“Millie hasn’t improved since then, she’s out for a couple of games. Same for Bobby,” Klopp revealed in his pre-match press conference (via liverpoolfc.com). “Bobby, he’s like that, he’s already on the better side, even when he was just a few days ago, but it’s not a big thing, so we’ll see it day by day with him.”
Now it looks like the issue will carry over into the new year, leaving fans waiting until January 2 for our meeting with Brentford to see our next look at the Brazil international.
Diogo Jota – ‘early or early February’
A long-term injury to Diogo Jota left our options a bit empty at the top, an issue that has put another spotlight on Darwin Nunez and the Uruguayan’s contributions in the absences of his teammates.
“As far as we know, it is more or less where it is expected to be. He went to Dubai,” Ben Dinner told his YouTube channel (via This Is Futbol).
“As part of our warm weather training camp. However, I was working on an individualized program or just keeping them involved in the process.
“We’re probably looking at early or early February in terms of the Portuguese international returning to contention.”
Hopefully, there will be no further complications ahead of an important month of matches, including, most notably, our Champions League round of 16 clash with champions Real Madrid.
Luis Díaz – the reverse of Dubai
Luis Diaz sadly suffered an injury setback during Liverpool’s hot-weather training camp in Dubai that will now likely see him sidelined until March.
Pep Lijnders was optimistic about defeat in his pre-match press conference for our Carabao Cup loss to Manchester City (relayed in a tweet by James Pearce), although there was no denying the blow to our plans in the second half of the campaign
Lijnders on Jota/Diaz: “For Luis, for the team, what happened is very sad, but he will take advantage of this time to come back stronger. Jota is on the time frame. He was with us in Dubai, in the video meetings” .
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) December 21, 2022
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