Liverpool‘s injury crisis in defence was exacerbated during the first half of their Champions League tie with FC Midtjylland when stand-in centre back Fabinho was forced off through injury.
The Brazilian was starting his third successive game at the heart of Jurgen Klopp‘s backline following Virgil Van Dijk‘s ACL injury against Everton in the Merseyside derby, but he lasted just half an hour against the Danish champions at Anfield.
As he was making a recovery sprint back into his own penalty area with FC Midtjylland on the attack, Fabinho pulled up after appearing to tweak his hamstring and he quickly signalled to the bench to receive treatment.
It soon became apparent that the 27-year-old would be unable to take any further part in proceedings and his place alongside Joe Gomez was taken by 19-year-old Rhys Williams who was on loan at Kidderminster Harriers in the National League North this time last year.
Liverpool’s central defensive options were already light with Van Dijk sidelined for the foreseeable future and Joel Matip also unavailable due to injury while Dejan Lovren left to join Zenit St Peterburg in the summer.
In-form West Ham will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing a depleted Liverpool backline on Saturday with Gomez, who has had his fair share of injury problems during his spell at Anfield, the club’s only fit senior centre back.
The worrying thing about Fabinho’s injury from Liverpool’s perspective is that he was under no pressure at all when it occurred. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson and Alisson, the three Liverpool players in his immediate vicinity, all looked concerned while he was receiving on-field treatment from a physio.
If Fabinho has suffered a hamstring strain, Liverpool will be desperately hoping that it is a minor one. A grade 1 hamstring strain can take a matter of days to heal whereas grade 2 or grade 3 strains can take weeks or even months to recover from.
Who could replace Fabinho?
Presumably, Williams will be handed his Premier League debut against West Ham at Anfield considering he has made back-to-back substitute appearances in the Champions League over the past week.
It would cap a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the teenage academy graduate considering he was on loan at Kidderminster Harriers in the sixth-tier of English football last season. Less than ten months ago, Williams was sent off during a 2-0 defeat to Brackley.
Recalling an incident in a game he played for the club, Williams told Liverpool’s website: “Welcome to non-league! I put my head in and he smashed me in the nose, it’s broken.”
Other options that Klopp could consider are 23-year-old Nat Phillips who has played at a considerably higher level than Williams after spending time on loan with VFB Stuttgart in the German second-tier last season.
Alternatively, 17-year-old Frenchman Billy Koumetio who arrived at Anfield from US Orleans ahead of the 2018-19 season could be called upon. Although he hasn’t featured for Liverpool’s first-team, he was named on the substitute’s bench during last season’s Carabao Cup win over Arsenal.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/31QHy3D
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