Jordan Henderson missed Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Burnley as a result of a ‘minor’ muscle strain, according to reports.
This comes James Pearce of The Athletic. He claims that Henderson’s absence was a precautionary measure, so hopefully, the skipper is back sooner rather than later.
The Reds originally tweeted that Henderson had a fitness problem, while Jurgen Klopp said he was ‘feeling something’ and wasn’t worth the risk.
However, according to Pearce, the issue appears to be a muscle strain, which indicates he could return soon.
The England international was a huge miss for Liverpool who slumped to their first league defeat at Anfield in 1369 days.
Such a miserable performance against the Clarets extended the club’s winless run to five Premier League matches, too. On top of that, Liverpool have failed to score in their previous four league matches – their worst run since May 2000.
In the absence of Henderson, Liverpool looked disjointed in midfield and a team totally bereft of ideas.
With Henderson, James Milner and Virgil van Dijk missing, the responsibility of captain fell on the shoulders of Gini Wijnaldum.
One positive from last night was the return of Joel Matip in defence. The Cameroonian was comfortably Liverpool’s best player against Burnley and will enable Henderson to return to his preferred midfield role having covered in defence in recent matches.
Hopefully, Henderson’s unavailability will be short-lived and the skipper will be back ahead of Liverpool’s toughest run of the season yet
The English champions are due to face Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham, Brighton, Manchester City, Leicester City, RB Leipzig and Everton in the next eight matches.
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