Liverpool: Adam Lallana is the designated Fabinho injury replacement
By David Gate
Liverpool midfielder Fabinho has been ruled out of action until 2020 with an ankle ligament injury which leaves Adam Lallana as his designated replacement.
Liverpool Football Club have confirmed today that Fabinho will miss a significant amount of time with the ankle injury he sustained in the 1-1 draw with Napoli. Now we will see if Jurgen Klopp will turn to his chosen backup Adam Lallana to fill the void.
The official LFC website states:
"Liverpool can confirm Fabinho suffered ankle ligament damage during the Champions League encounter with Napoli in midweek. Further assessment on the injury has discovered Fabinho will be out of action until the New Year.More from Rush The KopSet to return, Virgil Van Dijk facing heavy criticism back homeLiverpool making late comebacks all the rage once againWolves tilt gives Klopp opportunity to tinker with lineup following international dutyPlayers to watch in the matchup with WolvesPredicting Liverpool’s Next Five Premier League Fixtures"
The injury has come at a terrible moment for Klopp with the fixture schedule about to overdrive as we head into December; the Reds have 10 games between now and January 1st.
There is also the vague time frame for his return. The ‘new year’ could mean the first week of January or it could mean April. The only other information the club has given is this:
"The Brazilian will begin a rehabilitation programme with the Reds’ medical team at Melwood as he works his way back to full fitness."
Most ankle ligament injuries take between 6-8 weeks to recover from. Fans will be hoping it is six weeks as that will mean he will be available for the Premier League games against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in January.
Fabinho has started most games this season but when he hasn’t Klopp has asked Adam Lallana to step in as defensive midfielder.
This is an experiment that started in pre-season but has continued in both the Carabao Cup victories and the win against Aston Villa at the beginning of the month.
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It seems unlikely that Lallana will pick up all the Brazilian’s minutes. Instead he may get an opportunity in some Premier League games while the boss goes with James Milner to play alongside Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum in the bigger contests.