Mohamed Salah has continued his blistering season despite Liverpool contract uncertainty
Liverpool has come through an intense period of five Premier League games in 15 days with an enhanced advantage at the summit of the Premier League table. Just as importantly, the injury list is not looking too extensive.
While Liverpool has done well to take 11 points from a possible 15 across this brutal stretch, the changing title picture is just as much down to Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta demonstrating exactly how injuries can derail a season. With no recognized striker, the Gunners have limped to a series of disappointing results, and now trail by 13 points
Bad luck, you might say — although when Richard Hughes put Arne Slot at the top of his shortlist, his injury prevention record at Feyenoord was one of the many impressive factors. The coaching staff have managed Liverpool’s load superbly, although that didn’t prevent an Alexis Mac Allister admission.
Asked after the Newcastle game whether a week’s break before the next fixture feels like a luxury, Mac Allister emphatically concurred. The goal-scorer admitted that the players have been very tired, mirroring Dominik Szoboszlai’s comments after his all-action performance against Man City
Yet the fatigue has not claimed many casualties. Indeed, the only player Liverpool has lost during this run of games is Conor Bradley.
The right-back was withdrawn against Aston Villa with a muscle issue, having only come on as a substitute earlier in the second half. That forced Liverpool into a rethink about how to manage Trent Alexander-Arnold’s minutes during the rapid-fire fixtures, but he has made it through unscathed, with the odd bit of help from Jarell Quansah as cover.
Another who might usually have filled in there is Joe Gomez, but he succumbed to a hamstring issue even before the games started coming thick and fast. Having been given plenty of time to recover, he made it through just 11 minutes against Plymouth on his return before being forced off again, and has now undergone surgery
Slot has revealed that Gomez will hopefully be back before the end of the season, but the timescale is not a short one. Meanwhile, Tyler Morton is now expected to miss the remainder of the campaign.
As with Gomez, the decision was taken to send Morton for surgery. That has addressed a shoulder injury he picked up in December — he had been managing it, making an appearance in the Champions League the following month, but the choice to properly address the issue was made after a winter transfer was not forthcoming.
But those who are fit will now have a valuable rest, and a week on the training ground with Slot ahead of the big game with PSG. The manager will once again be absent on the touchline against Southampton, after a two-game league ban was confirmed, but he will value the time to work with a near-full squad as the season enters the business end.