News that we all feared to hear has come out of Melwood. One of our central defenders, the position we are woefully short of back-up in, has been ruled out for six weeks with the dreaded broken metatarsal. Yes, we’ll be missing the Great Dane, Daniel Agger until, I believe, early November.
This means that Xabi Alonso, also out with the same injury, will miss fixtures against Birmingham, Reading (A), Wigan (A), Marseille (A), Tottenham, Everton (A), Besiktas (A), Arsenal and Blackburn (A). Depending on the length of recovery, the boys may also miss the return leg against Besiktas and the home tie with Fulham.
In my mind, there are two issues that stem from this mini-injury crisis.
One, will they be missed? There are "no easy games in the premiership" but apart from Tottenham, Arsenal and a potentially tricky derby match, we’ve got a relatively straightforward programme in the next six weeks. Marseille and Besiktas are both going to be tough games but the Champions League is generally played at a slower pace so his experience may even help us.
Two, leading on from the thought on Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton, is who will replace Agger at center-back? Hyypia has been a mainstay of the back four for years but all three of the mentioned teams have a slew of pacey forwards and, cult hero or no, the aging Finn has the turning circle of an aircraft carrier and the acceleration to match. Is it too soon for Jack Hobbs to be promoted from the reserves? Does Arbeloa have the physicality to play in the middle? How about Godwin Antwi? The Spanish-Ghanian has the build to play in the premiership but will he, or any of the youngsters, be risked this early in the season when building on our strong start is all-important?
A third thought. Should players stop wearing boots that have the protective abilities of carpet slippers? Do the ultra-light boots of today really give that much of an advantage over the heavier, older boots to justify using them, especially if your players keep on getting injured?
And finally, apparently some small club in London lost a translator.