Liverpool suffered tremendously with injuries in 2023/24, but in the first campaign under Arne Slot the number of games missed reduced by an astonishing 64.3 percent.
The Reds’ final season under Jurgen Klopp fell apart as too many players were overplayed to compensate for the injury list, thus seeing the campaign crumble.
In 2023/24, 22 players missed a game due to injury, combining for a total of 362 matches missed to leave Slot and his coaches an obvious starting point for improvement.
It was not sustainable and, thankfully, Liverpool have seen injuries reduce by 64.3 percent this season, with only 11 regular senior players forced to miss at least one game.
They combined for 129 games missed due to a fitness issue, with Joe Gomez (24) and Conor Bradley (19) sitting out the most.
It is a significant drop and one that was desperately needed as injuries saw players miss a combined 670 games missed across the previous two seasons.
This time around, 11 senior players did not miss a game due to injury, although five were absent due to either illness or suspension.
Not down to luck
Ruben Peeters, first-team lead physical performance coach, has been a catalyst for change after boasting a record above 90 percent for player availability whilst with Slot at Feyenoord.
The pair are known to have a keen eye for detail, with Peeters consistently looking to find ways to optimise performance, whether that be through sleep or diet, among other things.
It is not by luck that Liverpool’s injuries decreased, rather by design, and the Reds reaped the ultimate reward by lifting the Premier League trophy.
Liverpool injuries in 2024/25
Joe Gomez: 24 games missed
Conor Bradley: 19
Diogo Jota: 15
Alisson: 15
Federico Chiesa: 14
Harvey Elliott: 14
Ibrahima Konate: 8
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 7
Kostas Tsimikas: 6
Curtis Jones: 4
Cody Gakpo: 3
When asked earlier in the season if he thinks luck had been in Liverpool’s favour as injuries hit other teams, Slot brilliantly retorted: “If you think injuries are only luck or bad luck, then we’ve been lucky.
“But we’ve tried to believe in the fact that we try to prevent them from a certain way of working.
“So that we don’t have many injuries, I don’t see that as luck. I see this as, first of all, top professionals, our players do everything to stay fit. Second of all, great facilities and great staff.
“You cannot go through a season without injuries, it is more the amount of injuries that you hopefully try to prevent.
“It could be luck, but I hope that we do things in the right way that it is not only luck, but it is also doing things in the right way.”
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