Andrew Robertson believes ‘no team in the WORLD’ could cope with the amount of injuries Liverpool have suffered this season, with Jurgen Klopp being forced to use 18 different centre-back pairings because of them!
- Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson has opened up on his side’s injury turmoil
- The dependable full-back says the Reds’ centre-back crisis would hurt any team
- Inspirational leader Virgil van Dijk is the most significant of a litany of absentees
- Jurgen Klopp’s men are sixth in the Premier League after a wretched run of form
Liverpool left-back Andrew Robertson has insisted that ‘not one’ team in the world would be able to absorb the Premier League champions’ nightmare injury list.
Beleaguered boss Jurgen Klopp has been forced to try 18 centre-back pairings this season after losing the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip and seeing stand-ins Fabinho and Jordan Henderson add to his selection headaches.
Calling himself ‘probably the leader at the back’, Robertson told Sky Sports: ‘If you tell any team in world football that they’re going to have 18 different partnerships in a season at centre-back, no team in the world deals with that – not one.
Andy Robertson (left) is one of the few Liverpool defenders Jurgen Klopp has not lost to injury
The Reds have endured an escalating crisis since Virgil van Dijk (left) was crocked at Everton
‘Usually we have Virg, who’s very vocal. We have Joey Gomez, who leads by example, and Joel [Matip]. We’ve had Fabinho, Hendo.
‘But now we’ve got Nat Phillips who obviously wasn’t here last season, was out on loan.
‘We’ve got [Ozan] Kabak, who’s just a young lad who’s just come in, and we’ve got Ben Davies, who’s been signed from a Championship club and needs to take time – and big Rhys [Williams], of course.
‘All of them are relatively inexperienced and it’s trying to help them, but also trying to help the team by focusing on yourself.’
The depleted Reds’ results have slumped as their injury list has grown, winning two of their last 11 league games and losing their last four on a run that seemed unthinkable ahead of the start of their title defence.
Experienced Joel Matip sustained an ankle injury and may not be available until next season
Captain Jordan Henderson required surgery after the 3-1 defeat at Leicester earlier this month
Hugely influential defensive lynchpin Van Dijk has been back in training but is not expected to play again this season after suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury in the Merseyside derby against Everton in October
Gomez compounded Klopp’s misery by sustaining a knee injury in October, with a similar timescale set on his return, and Matip may not return until next season following the ankle issue he picked up in January.
‘It’s been tough for me personally – of course it has,” admitted 26-year-old Robertson. “But look – it’s part and parcel of it.
‘I’m probably the most vocal at the back now and it’s just trying to make sure that we do as well as we can and try to keep as many clean sheets as we can, because that’s the only way we’re going to win games.’
Van Dijk has been back in training and seen at games as he continues his lengthy full recovery
Makeshift defender Fabinho, who usually operates in midfield, has not appeared since the seismic 4-1 defeat at home to runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City on February 7.
Captain Jordan Henderson deputised before limping out of the subsequent defeat at Leicester, later undergoing surgery which is expected to sideline him until April.
Versatile veteran James Milner also suffered a hamstring problem in the 3-1 loss at the King Power Stadium.
Milner has returned to training but is set to miss the trip to Sheffield United on Sunday and is a doubt for the visit of Chelsea on Thursday.