Joe Gomez has featured for just 15 minutes since Leicester last made the trip to Anfield on December 22, with one setback after another leaving him without luck and game time.
The 24-year-old has made 12 appearances this season following on from his serious knee injury, but only four have come as part of the starting lineup.
His place in the pecking order behind Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate is clear, with his lack of luck limiting game-time further.
The FA Cup tie against Cardiff was viewed as the ideal opportunity for Gomez to lay down a marker but instead, Covid hit to leave him out of contention as Van Dijk and Konate got the nod.
Jurgen Klopp acknowledges that fortune has not been on Gomez’s side, but recent history suggests his time could be just around the corner – he just needs to be ready for when it does.
“It’s really unlucky for Joey, absolutely. When Joey played for us, he consistently played at an incredibly high level – one of the best centre-halves in England, for sure,” Klopp said.
“But then the big injury came and little injuries came on top of that, Covid came now at a very bad time – definitely would’ve played against Cardiff.
“That would have helped to gain some rhythm, to gain some momentum but he couldn’t play because of Covid.
“It’s tough. The only thing I can say is there are tougher things than being a squad player in the moment for Liverpool.
“There are much harder things out there in the world and the only answer in football is you have to fight through these moments and you are ready for when the situation changes.
“Too often we had only one centre-half or none available, so we couldn’t have reacted differently.
“But the quality of the boys, and especially Joe – obviously not played enough football in the last few months – is incredible.
“Having him in training shows just what a high-quality squad we have at the moment. If someone like Joe plays only 15 minutes since Leicester, it says everything about it.
“Not nice for the players, I understand everything about it but Joe makes it really professional and still knows he’s a young lad and will be fine in the future.
“In the moment, it is, for sure, harder.”
Fan Comments