Latest injury could go from bad to worse for Joel Matip

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Joel Matip could see his situation go from bad to worse on the back of his latest injury. The Cameroonian left at half-time against Fulham.

Joel Matip is out again and this latest injury is effectively a worst-case scenario come to life for Liverpool.

The Reds went into this season with three centre-halves. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are both out long-term, potentially for the whole campaign.

They desperately needed Matip to stay fit then and overcome his recent injury struggles. That hasn’t been the case, however. He left the pitch at half-time against Fulham and didn’t return.

So as of this moment, Liverpool don’t have any senior centre-halves. They have Fabinho – a defensive midfielder – and beyond that, youth products who weren’t supposed to play.

It shines a very bright light on their decision to enter the season with only three senior options. Especially as Matip only made eight Premier League starts in the previous campaign.

And when Liverpool look back at that decision, they may well go back on it. We could see a January signing and Matip’s injury makes that more likely.

Which is potentially disastrous for the 29-year-old.

Picked last

If Liverpool do sign anyone in January, they’ll want it to be a worthwhile investment. In other words, not someone who plays until March and then they forget about him.

A young-ish player makes the most sense, then. Someone around 22, 23 years old who can play now but has room to grow into a great player.

Any such player, though, would quickly relegate Matip to fourth-choice. He’s 29 and not someone to invest in long-term, whereas any new signing surely would be.

If he’s stayed fit, Liverpool may have waited until the end of the season. Then they’d look at three senior options and perhaps sign someone younger. Someone who can patiently wait until Matip and Van Dijk are ready to step aside.

But a January signing, if they’re match-ready, won’t be waiting. They’ll come in as third choice and Matip will see his minutes deplete further.

That looks like the most obvious outcome here. Liverpool surely can’t wait until the end of the season now, not with Matip out again.

This could be the end of him as a genuine first-team option.