Michael Owen gave his take on Fabinho’s likely return for Liverpool and his chances of playing in the FA Cup final. The Brazilian went off injured against Aston Villa.
Liverpool suffered a major blow on Tuesday evening as Fabinho went off injured against Aston Villa at Villa Park. A poor touch in midfield left him chasing back but that led to an overextension.
The Brazilian was holding his hamstring as he chased and eventually he had to hit the deck. Fabinho was unable to continue and Liverpool subbed him off on 29 minutes.
A hamstring injury is a worrying one – you can’t exactly play through it. Liverpool, of course, have a massive few weeks of football, too. There’s the FA Cup final on Saturday, the UEFA Champions League final on the 28th and massive Premier League fixtures between.
Michael Owen has a long, unfortunate history of hamstring issues and he gave his take on Fabinho’s chances of playing in those finals.
Michael Owen on Liverpool’s Fabinho
“That’s not good,” he wrote on Twitter. “Fabinho off with what looks like a hamstring injury. One of the first names on the team sheet, here’s hoping he makes it back for the Champions League Final.”
Owen then went into more detail for Premier League Productions. It’s safe to say he’s concerned.
“He’s one of the first names on the teamsheet,” said Owen. “And you know what? It was his own fault in a way – it was a really poor first touch that’s made him chase back.
“The one good thing is that he’s walked off and not with a huge limp. Back in my day, we used to grade them. Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3. If it’s a Grade 1, it’s 10 days to two weeks – so he’ll be praying it’s a Grade 1 to be back for the Champions League final.
“But no chance of the FA Cup final, in my opinion.”
This would be a massive blow but it’s a likely one. We can’t see how Fabinho recovers in time for the FA Cup final without putting himself out of the Champions League final. The Reds will have to save him for the latter.
And what a shame that is. Liverpool have done so well to keep everyone fit this season but Fabinho appears to have played one game too many. They’ll now be without a key player against Chelsea.