While Liverpool got the best of Tottenham in a dramatic fixture on Tuesday night at Anfield, they paid the price via the injury bug. According to BBC Sport and NBC Sports, the Reds could be without the services of midfielder Steven Gerrard for 3-6 weeks due to a hamstring injury. Additionally, Lucas Leiva may be out up to six weeks with a groin problem.
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Gerrard’s injury may seem like the more crucial one due to name recognition, but anyone watching Liverpool lately will see Lucas’ injury as a crucial knock to the central defensive midfield position. Combine both being injured at the same time, and that spells big trouble for Liverpool, who have an extremely crowded fixture list the next month.
Steven Gerrard came into the season with high hopes both personally and for the side. A dip in form has forced the Anfield legend to consider and follow through leaving the club he grew up rooting and playing for. Brendan Rodgers has done well to rotate the skipper to keep him fresh and prepare the team for his move stateside to the LA Galaxy. The Reds had coped well with the emergence of Lucas Leiva in a central defensive midfield position. Now, both are out for quite a while and Brendan Rodgers will have a few important decisions to make.
Looking at the roster, it seems easy enough to pencil Emre Can to the central defensive midfield role, which is his natural position after all. Unfortunately, the situation is not that simple. Moving Can up to the midfield would break up the solid foundation that the trio of Can-Skrtel-Sakho have formed in front of the now confident, rejuvenated Simon Mignolet.
Moving Can up to the midfield would force the much maligned Dejan Lovren back into the defense, where he was dropped for his incredibly poor form. While it’s possible the Croatian learned his lesson, the defense is the most dangerous thing to experiment and change up; especially a defense that has finally come together and put up clean sheets in five of their last seven fixtures.
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There could be another solution that does not involve busting up the defense. If Liverpool want to keep their back three stagnant and consistent, they may opt to play Joe Allen in the CDM position. This, once again, is not a solution that will replace Lucas or Gerrard’s defensive steel and long pass ability in the back respectively. It will, though, keep a back three in tact and allow Joe Allen to potentially continue his development. While the fan base is polarized over Allen, they have warmed up to him recently and he could take a role alongside Jordan Henderson.
Whether the solution will be to move Can up and insert Lovren into the back three or simply replace the injured players with Joe Allen, the Reds face quite a difficult challenge ahead. Hopefully Gerrard’s scan shows the injury is not as bad as feared and Lucas can recover quicker than expected, but in the meantime, it’s time for new heroes to step up and continue Liverpool’s recent great run of play.
Will Liverpool answer the bell again with this recent wave of injuries? Will this problem linger for Gerrard into his MLS playing days with LA Galaxy? Let us know what you think in the comments below.