The injury crisis on Merseyside strikes again – this time it’s Andy Robertson who is set for a spell on the sidelines.
Having already suffered over 10 injuries, Liverpool face off against Ajax in the Champions League on Tuesday night, but they will have to do it without Andy Robertson.
The Scotsman is out of the game with a knee injury and races an uncertain amount of time out of action.
His form at the start of the season has been fairly poor, but even still, Robertson is still a top player and it is another example of a big injury blow for Jurgen Klopp.
Players who have already been injured for Liverpool this season:
• Alisson
• Thiago
• Jota
• Firmino
• Henderson
• Konate
• Matip
• Keita
• Robertson
• Tsimikas
• Carvalho
• Oxlade-Chamberlain
• Jones
• Kelleher
• Ramsay15 players already. We’re in September.
— Anfield Edition (@AnfieldEdition) September 12, 2022
Andy Robertson out but it means Tsimikas will get game time
Robertson is set for a spell on the sidelines, as confirmed by James Pearce of the Athletic. Klopp gave an update on the injury: “He felt it the next day (after Napoli game). He’s out until after the international break.”
The international break begins on the 19th of September following Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Chelsea on Sunday.
He also mentioned that Curtis Jones is still out but Fabio Carvalho is back. Robertson was at the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby on Sunday in a knee brace according to the Liverpool ECHO.
Everyone’s favourite Greek scouser Konstantinos Tsimikas will deputise in place of Robertson and, for the first time since joining Liverpool, he will get a chance to start at least three or four games in a row.
Tsimikas, 26, has been threatening to start for Liverpool for the last month, with Robertson dropping his levels, much like most of the team.
A pinpoint assist to get us through to the FA Cup semi final 🎯
We’re so lucky to have a backup the quality of Kostas Tsimikas. The Greek Scouser starts for almost every other side in the league 🇬🇷
— Anfield Edition (@AnfieldEdition) June 27, 2022
So far this season he’s only played 131 minutes of action but has managed two assists, which is a great return considering the bit-part role he’s played so far.
Last season saw him register six assists in 26 appearances, with Robertson playing the majority of the 63-game season last year.
His stats show that he should be afforded more game time, perhaps it could help Robertson, giving him more of a regular break as the Scotsman has had a crazy year with club and country.
For a full-back, he registers between the 98th and 99th percentiles for assists, shot-creating actions, progressive carries, progressive passes received and xG assisted – all the figures point towards a very attacking and effective left-back.
That was never in question, but defensively Liverpool have been all over the place and he comes into a back four currently struggling for togetherness.
Perhaps just a new presence in the back four could help patch it together, but we don’t really know what’s going to happen because he’s not been afforded a run in the team like this before.
However, from the signs we’ve seen so far this season and last year, he could prove to be an important player for Liverpool as they negotiate their way through a tough patch.
