Paul Glatzel has been left “devastated” as an ankle injury has forced him to the sidelines “for a while,” with the Liverpool striker out of luck with fitness problems.
It has been a turbulent year-and-a-half for Glatzel, who ruptured his ACL in the first team’s pre-season victory at Tranmere in 2019, keeping him out for the entire campaign.
The 19-year-old did return to senior training in the final weeks of the prolonged season, but a further setback earlier this term ensured his first competitive game back came at the end of October.
And in his fourth outing, a 0-0 draw with Southampton on November 21, Glatzel was forced off at half-time having been on the receiving end of a late challenge.
Jurgen Klopp was watching on at Kirkby, and accompanied his young hopeful off the pitch at the break, with the club later confirming both Glatzel and fellow striker Joe Hardy suffered ankle ligament damage in the stalemate.
Glatzel has taken to Instagram to provide an update on his injury, saying he is “devastated” but insisting: “I know that I will get through this.”
“As some of you may know, I damaged ligaments in my ankle in a game last Saturday,” the Liverpool-born Germany youth international wrote.
“This will mean that I will be out of action once again for a while and will also mean that I have to go through the injury rehab process again to get back fit and back to my best.
“As you can imagine I am devastated but sadly it is part of the game and I know that I will get through this.
“I have been here before and will put all my focus and determination into being back on the pitch as quickly as possible.
“Thank you for all the support. I will be back fitter and stronger than ever!”
It is a frustrating time for Glatzel, who prior to his ACL injury had scored 29 goals and laid on 10 assists in 34 games at academy level, forging an unstoppable partnership with Bobby Duncan for the under-18s.
Duncan was among those to write a message of support to Glatzel, with the Derby striker wishing him to “come back stronger.”
“All the best brother, come back soon,” wrote Harvey Elliott, while Rhian Brewster urged him to “come back stronger than ever my brother” with Jake Cain and Leighton Clarkson both writing similar.
These were added to by academy team-mates Billy Koumetio, Layton Stewart, Conor Bradley, Owen Beck, Liam Coyle, Jack Walls, Harvey Blair, Matteo Ritaccio, Tony Gallacher, Tom Hill, Jack Bearne, Abdi Sharif, Ben Winterbottom, Morgan Boyes and Fidel O’Rourke.
This is a testament to both Glatzel’s popularity and the strong bond within the youth ranks, with the now-departed Dal Varesanovic and Patrik Raitanen also writing messages.
Having already gone through a painstaking rehabilitation process with his first injury, Glatzel is well-placed to return to form after his latest setback, particularly with the support of those at Kirkby.
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