Liverpool defender Joe Gomez will undergo surgery to repair his fractured leg, the club announced on Monday. This news means that the 21-year-old will most if the remaining season, if not all of it. The injury occurred against Burnley on December 5, on a very controversial challenge that greatly upset Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.
As the season has progressed, his time table for return kept shifting backward. Klopp and the club consistently kept moving the goalposts back until the extremely disappointing albeit not all that surprising news today was revealed.
“Obviously being out for longer than we’d first hoped for is hard to swallow but it’s part and parcel of the industry,” Gomez is quoted via LiverpoolFC.com.
“It was an injury caused by an impact, like nearly all the injuries I’ve had in my career, so I know it’s just a case of when it’s fully healed I’m good to go again.”
The back line is certainly the position group which has seen the greatest number of injuries and fitness issues for the Reds this season, so it goes without saying what a big blow this injury news is.
Best of luck to Joe Gomez and here’s to hoping for a full, speedy recovery. According to the Daily Mirror’s David Maddock this surgery won’t create any more of a set back, and Gomez might be back by March. Of course, this is a very optimistic outlook.
Gomez merely a routine operation designed to speed up the healing process, so not expected to set his return back any further. No timescale yet until results know, but could be back by (early) March if goes well. #LFC
— David Maddock (@MaddockMirror) February 4, 2019
Liverpool at West Ham United FYIs
Kickoff: Monday, February 4, 8pm, London Stadium
Google Result Probability: Liverpool win 70%, Draw 19%, West Ham United win 26%
Odds via Betfair: Liverpool 4/11, Draw 4/1, West Ham 7/1
Liverpool FC Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Prediction: Liverpool 2, West Ham United 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.