No timescale has been set on Joe Gomez’s return from injury, signifying a fresh setback for the Liverpool defender.
The England international suffered a fractured leg in the 3-1 won over Burnley in December, and had been expected to be back in contention for minutes bu February.
Speaking to the club’s official website, however, Jurgen Klopp revealed that the 21-year-old has yet to return even to light training.
He said: “We thought three weeks ago he would be closer and then we had to make another diagnosis in which we saw that it didn’t work out so far as we wanted, that’s why he is still not in training or running on the pitch.
“We have to wait, for sure, a couple of weeks. We will see, it is difficult to judge in the moment.”
OPINION
This setback is a really disappointing one for both Gomez and the Liverpool squad. The defender had been in fine form prior to his injury, and was forging a really promising partnership with Virgil van Dijk at the heart of defence. That kind of devastating injury, any kind of fracture or break in the leg, can be a really complex issue to come back from, and while it is gutting that Gomez will be out for a while, it can’t be entirely unexpected. From the team’s point of view, the good news is that they have options to cover Gomez, with Dejan Lovren available, Joel Matip back from injury, and Fabinho proving a surprisingly useful deputy. The Reds can also take comfort from the fact that Gomez should make an appearance again this season, and that too will be a huge a bonus for England manager Gareth Southgate with the UEFA Nations League coming up at the end of the campaign.
