Should we continue to keep faith with this Brazilian?

I have always liked Liverpool full back Fabio Aurelio as a footballer. I remember watching him play for Valencia under Rafa Benitez and thought he would be an excellent addition to the Reds squad if we ever had the chance to sign him. When Rafa did sign him in 2006 I was delighted, and I thought we had a strong pairing of both him and John Arne Riise at left back who both could do equally well in the position.

Fast forward a few years until the 2009/10 season though, and Fabio’s biggest problem has been injuries. Whether his body is particularly prone to knocks or whether he is just been very unlucky, his absence meant we were effectively left with only Emiliano Insua and Andrea Dossena to play the position last campaign. With Rafa not too convinced by the performances of the Italian, he opted for the young but inexperienced Argentine Insua. For me, it was clear that he was out of his depth, despite being capped by Diego Maradona for Argentina, but Rafa had little choice but to play him after selling Dossena last January.

Aurelio continued to suffer with injuries until the end of last season, and it wasn’t a surprise to me when Rafa decided not to re-negotiate his contract. In his time at the club he had performed very well but the lack of games meant his contribution was not as big as it should have been for someone of his quality. Desperate to find a left back on a shoe-string budget though, Roy Hodgson opted to re-sign the player last summer with the hope that his injury problems were behind him. It was not going to be the case though as Fabio has been sidelined once more with an Achilles tendon injury this season.

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