Garth Crooks has told BBC Sport that the influence of Jordan Henderson was a huge miss as Liverpool succumbed to their first home league defeat since April 2017.
Henderson, 30, did not play during the 1-0 defeat against Burnley as Joel Matip returned to the heart of Liverpool’s defence.
The England international, who was signed by Kenny Dalglish in 2011 for a fee of £20 million, as per BBC Sport, has a minor muscle injury, according to reports.
This comes from James Pearce of The Athletic. He claims the Liverpool skipper has a muscle tear, although his absence against Burnley was more of a precautionary measure.
Former Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur forward Crooks believes that Henderson’s absence against Burnley was one of the key determining factors behind a rare Anfield defeat.
Analysing the influence of Henderson for his BBC Sport’s column, Crooks wrote: “How Liverpool came away with a point against Manchester United was probably down to Allison and Henderson.
“It was impressive to see Fabinho fill in so brilliantly at the back, but to see Henderson do the same – and against United when so much was on the game – was impressive.
“Henderson and Fabinho kept Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani all reasonably quiet on the night. Henderson was left out of the fixture against Burnley as a precaution.
“Very wise, they can’t afford to lose him for any length of time but my goodness did they need Henderson against Burnley. Liverpool’s injury list is so bad at the moment players must get treatment by appointment only.”
What RTK has to say – Henderson as become too important to Klopp system
Unsurprisingly, of the previous six league matches Liverpool have lost, Henderson has been absent for four of them.
This alone typifies just how indispensable the club-captain is to Jurgen Klopp’s style of play. Without him, Liverpool simply aren’t the same team.
Indeed, Henderson’s willingness to sacrifice himself for the betterment of the team has been huge in recent seasons.
And as a result, his importance has become to great for the Reds to cope without. Similarly to Virgil van Dijk, Henderson – who earns £140,000-a-week, as per Spotrac – sets the standard and is a professional who above everyone else, embodies Liverpool’s relentless mentality.
Getting him back in the team, then, could go a long way in Liverpool turning around their recent miserable run of form.
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