Liverpool are at risk.
The injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold comes hot on the heels of blows to Alisson Becker and Thiago, while Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, Joel Matip, Thiago and Kostas Tsimikas have also spent time in the treatment room.
Jurgen Klopp has called for the Premier League to increase the amount of substitutes allowed per game back up to five, rather than three. Yet, when push comes to shove, the gaffer doesn’t use his full allocation.
"Goal.com reported that he said: “It’s (five subs) not an advantage, it’s a necessity. It happens in other countries, it was sold completely wrong and now you have this situation.”"
Liverpool have got a fine squad, with more squad depth than it had in recent times. Yet that is not being explored by Klopp, who is risking the health and fitness of those key players by keeping them on the pitch.
From eight top flight games, Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson have played all 720 minutes. Alexander-Arnold had featured in 692, while Gini Wijnaldum, Roberto Firmino and Sadio mane have all played over 600 minutes.
That’s not even counting Champions League matches, of which there have been three.
It’s fine asking for more substitutions to be allowed during league matches, but that rhetoric isn’t matching actions as leading players are still being made to play more than ever. Liverpool have Xherdan Shaqiri in the squad – does Salah have to play 720 minutes?
We have Diogo Jota, does Firmino need to play so much? We have Neco Williams in the squad, a man Klopp deemed was good enough to be Trent’s backup, yet the Welsh international has hardly featured.
This is mitigated, as usual, by the fierce requirement for Liverpool to win every game. Klopp promised us we’d attack the league this season, and leaving out your best players don’t scream intent.
Yet this campaign is like no other, and players are under more pressure from the schedule and their own bodies than ever before. Liverpool are sitting on a ticking time bomb, and changes are needed.