Liverpool face potential crisis.
It’s been a bad week for the club as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez have joined the list of walking wounded, but there could be a couple more casualties to add to the list.
The international break has came at a good time for Alexander-Arnold, who will have welcomed the two week gap between Premier League games and he should only miss three league games.
Gomez’s situation is less sure, but Liverpool are hopeful that he’ll be back before the end of the season. The centre-back suffered damage to his tendon, but not the ligament, and has gone under the knife to correct the issue – wrote the Guardian.
That international break comes with its own complications, however, and it results in players flying around the globe, mixing with people from other bubbles and generally not being COVID safe.
Naby Keita had his own COVID scare earlier in the season, as did Xherdan Shaqiri. These came at a time when Thiago picked up the infection, as had Kostas Tsimikas earlier in the season.
In short, Liverpool have had a rough time of it. And things could get worse.
While on international duty with Brazil, Alisson and Roberto Firmino could have come in contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case and could be forced into isolation.
Sports Witness reported that 20-year-old Palmeiras defender Gabriel Menino has tested positive for the virus, and was in close proximity with Firmino and Alisson before they realised Menino was infected.
There’s been no further update on the case, and depending on how close the contact was Liverpool might be able to get away one.
Firmino might not be such a huge miss, given the form of Diogo Jota, but Jurgen Klopp needs Alisson in goal. Especially with Gomez and van Dijk out of the side, the team needs a strong voice and world-class quality at the back.
We’ll be waiting to hear more about this story with baited breath.