The swelling went down, the MRI was done, and the news came back confirming the worst fears and least palatable rumours: Lucas Leiva will be out, at best, for the remainder of the season after injuring his ACL in the League Cup match against Chelsea. This is, of course, horrible news for the player himself, whose development into one of the best holding midfielders in world football had finally seen a long overdue shift in public and media opinion.
If the news is bad for the player personally, it isn't much better for Liverpool, with the club having come to rely on his presence in midfield and calming influence in front of the back four in a way that will make him nearly impossible to replace with any one player currently in the squad. One can only hope that a speedy recovery—relatively, at least, considering the seriousness of the injury—and no lingering ill effects is on the cards for one of the club's most important players, and also one of its most likeable.
Lucas recently went on Twitter to confirm the situation, and the club has released a brief statement on the matter:
Liverpool FC said today a scan had confirmed an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament in Lucas Leiva's left knee.
The Brazil international will undergo surgery and unfortunately be ruled out for the remainder of the current campaign.
In the spirit of the season and in light of recent developments, we would also like to release a brief statement on the matter: Well, fuck.