Jurgen Klopp's midfield rebuild has breathed new life into his Liverpool side, who are attempting to write another historic chapter in what has been an era full of success under the German. In many ways, the Reds have benefitted from enduring a season away from the Champions League with the Europa League handing them a fresh chance to rest key players.
As a result of that rotation, Liverpool are firing on all cylinders and have lost just once all season – and even that came in controversial fashion. One of the many reasons for that form has been the avoidance of injuries to key players. The Reds have been fortunate to keep hold of the likes of Virgil van Dijjk, Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai, who have all remained fit throughout the Premier League campaign so far.
Klopp hasn't been entirely without his fitness issues, however, with one particular player set to miss even more action than expected.
Liverpool injury news
Liverpool have suffered small knocks throughout the season but nothing to bring their momentum to a crashing halt. Much of that could be down to the fact that they've reduced the age of their squad significantly in the last few years, showing Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, James Milner, Fabinho, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain the exit door in favour of Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo.
One player who survived the rebuild is Thiago Alcantara, who has perhaps shown his age with his struggle to get back to full fitness after a hip surgery. And now, Klopp has suffered a fresh injury blow, with Thiago set to be out until the new year, as confirmed by James Pearce of The Athletic. The former Bayern Munich star is yet to play this season and, despite looking on course to return at the end of last month, will now miss two more months.
Back in October, Klopp clearly expectd Thiago's return to come a lot sooner, saying: “I don’t know, I will not put pressure on that (his return). If they will be back after the (October) international break, we will see. Hopefully, it would be cool."
"Outstanding" Thiago out until 2024
Thiago's return would undoubtedly add the cherry on top of Liverpool's new-looking midfield, given the mouth-watering prospect of the Spaniard's potential partnership with Mac Alister and Szoboszlai. Those at Anfield will seemingly have to wait until the new year to see that trio line up together, however, as the veteran continues to struggle with injuries.
Thiago is, of course, in the final year of his contract at Liverpool, making his injury issues all the more frustrating. It remains to be seen whether he'll be handed a new deal, but if he continues to be sidelined, questions must be asked whether it would be a worthwhile move from the Reds to keep hold of their midfielder.
Klopp is certainly a fan of Thiago, previously telling TalkSport: “Haha, yeah he probably wants to be a Bentley, rather than a Rolls Royce, so he’s a bit quicker! But no, he’s an outstanding player – wow.
“I knew that when he arrived here, of course. He was unlucky with injuries and stuff like this at the start, but when he is fit he can give the game a real rhythm. He’s got an eye for that, he calms the game down in the right moments, he has a sensational overview of the game. I saw that a lot in football games, too, I just didn't have the feet to use it. So thank God he does! I can imagine you enjoyed it, I did as well.”
