Ben Dinnery has suggested that Liverpool could more consistently avoid playing stars dealing with minor niggles, rather than simply encouraging them to play through, in order to avoid more serious injuries.
The medical insider had been discussing Curtis Jones’ absence from the Reds’ final pre-season clash with Strasbourg, a tie that ended 3-0 in favour of the visitors from Ligue 1.
“There are eight player sidelined for Liverpool. But my personal theory is that we may see a high number of smaller time-loss injuries, little niggles that ordinarily other teams will play through,” the medical expert told Football Insider.
“But what we’ll see is the return-to-play timelines being dramatically reduced because the players aren’t risked unnecessarily.
“Klopp will rotate accordingly to minimise the risk of any of his players suffering a significant setback.”
It’s expected that this tactic could encourage a significant reduction in time players spend on the sidelines, which would be a massive relief to Jurgen Klopp and Co.
Given that the nightmares of our injury-ridden 2020/21 campaign probably remain relatively fresh in the memory still for how they disrupted our hopes of retaining a first title in 30 years, it’s a strategy worth pursuing in light of the fine margins that separate ourselves and Manchester City.
That’s not to discount the threat of the likes of Antonio Conte’s Tottenham who appear to have strengthened a great deal in the summer window, though the standard set by the league’s top two sides last term will be difficult to reach initially.
As long as we can keep our squad fit and healthy for the most part, however, we have to stand a good chance at the very least of fighting for more silverware this season.