Jordan Henderson is expected to miss at least the next five games for Liverpool, including the Champions League decider against RB Leipzig, due to an adductor injury.
The captain was forced off midway through the first half in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Everton, to be replaced by Nat Phillips as the Reds limped to a historic loss.
After the game, Jurgen Klopp admitted that “nobody in the medical department was positive about it,” with this latest issue adding to an ever-growing and changing list for Liverpool.
It is a particular blow as Henderson was established as the most senior centre-back in the absence of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Fabinho, partnering Ozan Kabak in the Turk’s first three starts for the club.
But now, Klopp could be without the 30-year-old for the next five fixtures, according to the Mail‘s Dominic King.
King claims the club are “resigned” to Henderson being absent from the Champions League last-16 second-leg clash with Leipzig on March 10, as well as the three Premier League games before it and the one after:
- Sheffield United (A) – Premier League – Feb 28
- Chelsea (H) – Premier League – Mar 4
- Fulham (H) – Premier League – Mar 7
- RB Leipzig (H) – Champions League – Mar 10
- Wolves (A) – Premier League – Mar 15
Henderson is set for a scan on the issue on Monday, with Liverpool “braced for a layoff of several weeks,” though there is no guarantee of confirmed results – or concrete information through journalists – when this is complete.
Effectively, Henderson could be ruled out until after the March international break, with a trip to Arsenal to follow on April 3, which may provide his opportunity to return.
But the Reds’ luck with injuries this season stresses the need for caution even with a projected timeframe of a month-and-a-half, as Diogo Jota‘s current spell on the sidelines highlights.
The hope will be that Fabinho will be able to ease Klopp’s concerns at the back with an imminent return, possibly as soon as the trip to Sheffield United on Sunday.
Even then, though, it is a far-from-ideal situation having the Brazilian again deputise at centre-back, particularly when the midfield is now looking spread thin.
Gini Wijnaldum has started every game since the start of 2021, in other words 12 in a row, and is in line to captain the side in the absence of Henderson, Van Dijk and James Milner.
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