Liverpool Winger Lazar Marković Leaves Serbia Squad Due to Injury

Liverpool winger Lazar Marković capped off a season long loan spell with Turkish Süper Lig side Fenerbahçe by re-injuring himself in the wake of their Turkish Cup defeat against Galatasaray.  The Serbian football association announced that, following discussions with national team head coach Slavoljub Muslin, Marković agreed to withdraw from the national squad's training camp, and it appears unlikely that he will feature in Serbia's summer programme.

Marković has labored through a somewhat ill-starred campaign with Fenerbahçe, having scored no league goals in just under 1000 minutes on the pitch, and with not much in highlight reel footage beyond a goal in the Turkish Cup and another in the Europa League.  Perhaps more importantly,  Marković endured a number of fitness setbacks over the season, and was thought to have been ruled out for the season when he suffered a hamstring injury in early April.  That he returned from injury to feature in Fenerbahce's final match of the season, only to promptly re-injure himself, must be frustrating for the player and a cause for his club's concern, given the importance of pace to Marković's game.

During the pre-season preparations for the 2015-16 campaign, Marković, still just 22 years of age, showed  signs of starting to settle and perhaps deliver on his early promise, which is why it raised some eyebrows when the winger was subsequently shipped out on loan for the season.  While Marković and even Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp have said all the right things during the loan, it's questionable what, if any, value the entire arrangement delivered to the player or to either club.

With Serbia not participating in Euro 2016, it was unlikely that Marković was going to have opportunities to show his development against top opposition. This latest injury likely now means the window of opportunity for making an impression on Klopp has narrowed significantly.  Add to that the concerns around Marković's durability, plus the possible departure of Jordon Ibe, and Liverpool's rumoured inquiries about certain wingers - some slightly more established and others a lot more established - take on an entirely new light.