Jurgen Klopp is facing another period without Luis Diaz, with the Liverpool star injured until March.
That’s according to Colombian journalist Pipe Sierra. Writing on Twitter, Sierra claimed that Diaz is set to undergo surgery on a problematic knee issue.
This, he suggests, will keep the Liverpool winger out of action for the next two-and-a-half months at least.
Diaz had returned to training with the Reds, but suffered a setback only days into the mid-season training camp in Dubai. Come back stronger, Luis.
Liverpool to make do without Lucho
This is clearly absolutely terrible news for Liverpool. With Diaz already injured since October, they have missed his invention and speed. Prior to injury, Michael Owen called him ‘unbelievable’ and the Reds have certainly missed that side of his game.
It hasn’t helped that the 25-year-old’s injury has also coincided with one to Diogo Jota. As a result, Klopp has perhaps been too reliant on Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.
Having stumbled upon a new 4-2-4 formation, it has at times been tricky to fill all the forward positions.
Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho have done their best to plug the holes. But neither look totally at home playing from wide. Liverpool need pace and trickery from those positions. They need Diaz.
Of course, when both Diaz and Jota return, that will become easier. With a lot of football to be played between now and their respective returns though, Liverpool fans will be sweating.
It could be that this latest setback forces Liverpool into the winter window for a forward. It wouldn’t ideally be what Klopp would like to do, but they could risk some real damage to their season otherwise.
As Liverpool’s midfield already looks past its best, they can’t afford to be simultaneously let down by the attack.
Quite who they would target is a tricky question to answer. Cody Gakpo looks like being available, but won’t come cheap. Beyond that, Liverpool have been linked with the likes of Randal Kolo Muani and Youssoufa Moukoko. Let’s see if anything happens. See you in March, Lucho.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
