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Signing from Bayer Leverkusen for £1M in 2012, Samed Yesil arrived at Anfield one of Germany's brightest attacking talents. Having scored 57 goals in 71 games over two seasons with Leverkusen's reserve squad, as a potential talent Yesil had been compared to no less than Gerd Muller. Since arriving at Anfield, though, things haven't gone well.
In February of last year, Yesil ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while competing with the German U19s. He was out until October. Now, he has suffered a second ruptured ACL in training with Liverpool. He will undergo surgery shortly and is expected to miss the rest of the year rehabilitating while questions hang over his footballing future.
"Unfortunately Samed has suffered a reoccurrence of his knee injury," said Alex Inglethorpe, Liverpool's U21 coach. "It’s a horrible situation for him as he had only just recovered from the previous injury. We will give him all the support he needs. He’s a great character and I am sure he will come back strongly from this."
Despite that support and his clear promise, two serious ACL injuries in less than a year at such an early age could prove too big a hurdle for the youngster to clear. At the very least, missing nearly two years of action at a key stage in his development will set Yesil back, and anyone expecting him to make an impact at the senior level may yet have a long wait.
