Liverpool defender Joe Gomez out Knee Injury

Reigning English Premier League champions Liverpool were dealt another injury woe this week in defence as centre-back Joe Gomez suffered a knee injury on international duty with England.

Gomez suffered the injury on Wednesday in training ahead of England’s international friendly with the Republic of Ireland. The defender damaged a tendon in his knee and was forced to undergo a surgery on Thursday to repair the damage.

“The issue was isolated to Gomez’s tendon, with no damage to any other associated knee ligaments,” Liverpool said in a statement to the media.

“No timescale is being placed upon his return, though the issue is likely to rule him out for a significant part of the remainder of 2020-21.”

Liverpool have now lost two of their three senior centre-backs to knee injuries this season. Virgil van Dijk was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign in October after suffering a Grade 3 ACL tear. Centre-back Joel Matip, who has endured his own fitness issues this season, is left as Liverpool’s only senior centre-back.

The club will look to Nat Phillips and teenager Rhys Williams for the foreseeable future. Gomez is set to miss a large portion of the season. The defender won’t return until the spring at the earliest, leaving a void in the Liverpool team as they fight for a second straight league title and Champions League silverware.

Manager Jurgen Klopp had used midfielder Fabinho to shore-up the defense with Van Dijk injured. However, his own hamstring injury has ruled him out of recent matches. Klopp turned to 19-year-old defender Williams for Liverpool’s recent Champions Leaguewins against Midtjylland and Atalanta.

Phillips was Klopp’s preferred centre-back in the Premier League in a victory against West Ham before Matip returned and partnered with Gomez on matchday 8 versus Manchester City. Now, Matip is likely to play next to Phillips when Liverpool return to league play against Leicester City on November 21.

Klopp has the option to play captain Jordan Henderson at centre-back having played the position last December in the FIFA World Club Cup.

Fabinho is likely to return to training in time for the game against Leicester City potentially increasing Klopp’s options.

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Cliff Davis

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