Jordan Henderson’s comments on Liverpool’s situation
Jordan Henderson’s comments on Liverpool’s situation
Jordan Henderson may have just forced Liverpool to reconsider Ginni Wijnaldum’s position
Jordan Henderson’s strike on international duty has once again shed light on Liverpool’s midfield injury crisis this season following the departure of Jenny Wijnaldum.
As news broke on Sunday morning that Jordan Henderson had withdrawn from international duty due to injury, the reaction of the Liverpool fan base was inevitable.
“another one.”
“here we go again.”
“We told you so.”
After their title defense was derailed last year as injuries devastated their squad and left them without a decent centre-back, the Reds can be forgiven for thinking they have avoided such an adventure this year.
After all, the £36m signing of Ibrahima Konate brings Jurgen Klopp’s total heartland to five while his squad boasts four goalkeepers, three recognized options per full-back role, eight senior midfielders and six top strikers.
On paper and given that you are only allowed to name a team of a maximum of 25 players this should be more than enough to cover record setbacks to injury but Henderson’s withdrawal from the England squad has sparked new concerns for the Reds.
He has certainly only missed out on the Three Lions’ clash with San Marino as Gareth Southgate’s side only need a point to qualify for the 2022 World Cup and having already faced Klopp’s wrath over and over again this season there is really no need to retain the title and the services of the Liverpool captain to tackle such small things. .
But that is not without the fact that no matter how severe it is it is another potential injury absence for the Reds midfielder and leaves Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain the only Liverpool midfield player to suffer such a setback this season.
With Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara back from layoffs ahead of the international break and we hope Naby Keita, James Milner and Curtis Jones all come close to returning when club football returns next weekend, Klopp will avoid a lack of options regardless of Henderson and the situation when his side took to the pitch against Arsenal on Friday. Saturday.
And even if the trio aren’t fit enough to start, young Tyler Morton has impressed when he turned into the League Cup so far this season.
But this string of midfield injuries left the Reds in their bones ahead of the international break as Henderson started game after game and culminated in Liverpool’s tired midfield performance in their defeat to West Ham United last weekend so let’s now turn to the elephant in the room.
Jenny Wijnaldum.
The Dutchman left Anfield at the end of his contract in the summer and signed for Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer and if we’re being honest he has barely landed as he adjusts to life in France.
But given that he has been a constant presence during his five years on Merseyside and has scored just under 47 appearances in a season in a year without European football his durability is exactly what Liverpool have lost in the engine room this year.
Fans expressed such concerns in the summer and have continued to do so since the transfer window closed, insisting that despite the numbers available to them the Reds need to replace Wijnaldum with only the majority of their options not reliable enough.
Klopp quickly dismissed such suggestions to the media in the final days of the summer market, emphasizing his faith in his current options but three months into the season Liverpool fans will not be satisfied with feeling they have been proven right so far and the match time both midfielders scored against Wijnaldum confirms it.
The Dutchman has played 17 matches with Paris Saint-Germain so far this season, including 12 in the French League and a total of 22 matches when she participates in his matches with the Netherlands as well.
Admittedly, we’ll only be playing 11 games in the Premier League compared to 13 in France and the 31-year-old has been limited to nine games for Mauricio Pochettino’s side but his continued endurance is there for all to see.
On the other hand, only Henderson has participated in more than seven Premier League games with Liverpool this season, while Fabinho and Oxlade-Chamberlain have joined the Reds captain in all four of their Champions League matches so far this season.
The trio was the only club for the club and the midfielders scored more than 10 games in all competitions so far during this campaign.
Meanwhile, only Henderson can come close to Wijnaldum’s 22 appearances for club and country this season as he made 19 appearances before the final shock blow with none of Klopp’s remaining options managing to accumulate more than 15 games.
With the Dutchman’s limited playing time a total of 824 minutes of his matches for PSG along with 380 minutes for the Netherlands (1,204 minutes combined) improved at Anfield.
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