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Injuries, goals & minutes – How did Liverpool’s June internationals fare?

A total of 20 senior players were called up for international duty after the conclusion of the domestic season, with injuries and plenty of minutes coming their way.

While the Reds’ remarkable, yet taxing, season came to a close after 63 games, 2021/22 was not over yet thanks to a long list of international fixtures.

A ridiculous situation that was laid bare by the scheduling of four Nations League fixtures for the majority of European nations, a competition Klopp regards as “one of the most ridiculous ideas in football.”

And yet off went a plethora of Liverpool players, adding minutes to their already exhausted legs and flirting with the possibility of injury as a result.

Thankfully, some international managers assisted with the load to either omit or limit the number of games, which directly benefited Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and Virgil van Dijk.

But here’s a breakdown of what went down during the international period in June.

 

Injuries

SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - Tuesday, June 19, 2018: Egypt's Mohamed Salah walks off dejected as his side lose 3-1 during the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 Group A match between Russia and Egypt at the Saint Petersburg Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

The Reds did not come through unscathed, unsurprisingly, with Thiago, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Andy Robertson and Neco Williams all sustaining injuries.

Thiago’s came before he made an appearance for Spain after waiting nearly a year for his call-up.

Salah, Jota, Robertson and Williams were all readily turned to by their managers before succumbing, with the hope that none have sustained a serious setback in the lead-up to pre-season.

It has not been confirmed, but Salah and Thiago look to have a reoccurrence of the issues that came to the fore at the end of the season.

The Reds kickstart their preparations for the new campaign on July 4, and while they may be handed a later date by which to make their return, rehab during the summer was not on the wishlist.

 

Minutes

2J1HGP2 Bucharest, Romania. 25th Mar, 2022. Kostas Tsimikas #21 of Greece and Pantelis Hatzidiakos #17 of Greece during the Friendly match between the national teams of Romania and Greece at Steaua Stadium in Bucharest, Romania. 25.03.2022. Photo: Copyright 2020, Credit: Cronos/Alamy Live News

There was a wide range of minutes accumulated, from a couple of Reds playing all four games from start to finish to one who amassed just 24 minutes of action:

Kostas Tsimikas – 360

Caoimhin Kelleher – 360

Andy Robertson – 256

Curtis Jones – 253

Neco Williams – 208

Ibrahima Konate – 180

Naby Keita – 180

Sadio Mane – 177

Diogo Jota – 175

Takumi Minamino – 154

Darwin Nunez – 108

Harvey Elliott – 101

Alisson – 90

Mohamed Salah – 90

Virgil van Dijk – 90

Conor Bradley – 87

Fabio Carvalho – 76

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 62

Fabinho – 24

 

Goals and Assists

Sadio Mane led Senegal to Africa Cup of Nations glory (Themba Hadebe/AP)

There was also a handful of players who contributed on the scoresheet:

Sadio Mane – 4 goals

Fabio Carvalho – 1 goal, 1 assist

Naby Keita – 1 goal

Harvey Elliott – 2 assists

Diogo Jota – 2 assists

Curtis Jones – 1 assist

 

Who was left out?

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, ENGLAND - Saturday, April 30, 2022: Liverpool's captain Jordan Henderson celebrates after the FA Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Liverpool FC at St James' Park. Liverpool won 1-0. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

And there were nine players who did not represent their country or receive a call-up, and instead started their summer break in swift fashion after the trophy parade, they were:

Henderson, Diaz, Joel Matip (retired), Roberto Firmino, James Milner (retired), Joe Gomez, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adrian and Rhys Williams.