Out of action: Who is on Liverpool’s injury list for the return of club football?

KopTalk 22 Dec 2022 Premier League News

The end of Qatar 2022 marks the return to club football and watching our Reds on a weekly basis. However, unfortunately for Jurgen Klopp and us Liverpool fans, there are several players whose return to action will be delayed after they picked up injuries before the World Cup.

Arthur Melo

Arthur Melo became a Red on deadline day this summer, though injury troubles have plagued his already young Liverpool career. His only football this campaign has come for our second team, aside from a mere 13 minutes of Champions League action against Napoli way back in September. Injuries that had been rumoured for a while were later confirmed by Klopp, who admitted the severity of Arthur’s problems would likely keep him out until the new year.

The 26-year-old, who hasn’t even featured on the bench since early October, has since received surgery, which puts his soonest return date at around mid-January, although February may be a more realistic deadline. That month is set to be a vital one for Klopp’s side, as we go out for revenge against last year’s European champions Real Madrid. In the outright sports betting markets, the Reds have odds of 9/1 to go on to European glory in 2022-23, although facing the holders at the last-16 stage will certainly be a stern test. Whether Arthur will be available for that match remains to be seen, though, as he continues his rehabilitation for his surgery.

Diogo Jota

Arguably a more significant loss to Jurgen Klopp’s side, Diogo Jota has featured just eight times across the Champions League and the Premier League in 2022-23. Despite being without a goal, he still recorded five assists in that time, highlighting his importance to Klopp as a team player. Jota’s absence has been sorely felt as we stuttered our way through the early stages of the season, eventually going into the international break in sixth place, a rank above Brighton.

The Portugal international suffered a calf injury against Manchester City in mid-October and hasn’t featured for Liverpool since, with the likes of Roberto Firmino coming into good effect. However, as the business end of the season approaches and games across all competitions begin to come thick and fast, the strength in depth up front will be vital for Klopp as we aim to go even further up the table and challenge for the Champions League places. Jota’s official return date isn’t until early January, although this is providing rehabilitation goes smoothly.

Luis Diaz

When it was confirmed that Colombia wouldn’t be going to the World Cup, most of us Liverpool fans probably celebrated the fact that Luis Diaz would be rested before the condensed Premier League schedule in the new year. However, a knee injury picked up against Arsenal in October – shortly before Jota’s issue – has meant Diaz wouldn’t have been able to feature in Qatar anyway and is instead focusing on getting back to full health.

In devastating news for Liverpool fans, it was since revealed that this rehabilitation wasn’t going to plan. New reports suggest that Diaz’s updated end date is now around March due to needing knee surgery, leaving significant holes in our front line ahead of the aforementioned crunch matches in the Premier League and Champions League. While the prognosis given by the Reds’ medical team is likely a worst-case scenario, Diaz’s woes highlight the need for Klopp to recruit in the winter window, provided he has the backing from our famously frugal owners.

While Jota is less of a worry, the injury history of Arthur and the recent setback suffered by Diaz means our strength in depth looks set to be tested going into the new year. As well as the possibility of further investment in January, Liverpool will be boosted by the rest periods for the likes of Mo Salah, Thiago and Joe Gomez, as we reignite our chase for league and European glory.

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