Joe Gomez Opens Up About Past Injury Nightmare

There’s always that one player, isn’t there? The player you know could do amazing things for the club if only they could string together enough games before succumbing to another injury. Liverpool’s list of those players over the years feels endless, from Daniel Agger to Daniel Sturridge to Naby Keïta and now Joe Gomez.

Gomez joined Liverpool in 2015. Almost immediately, he injured his knee and was out for almost a full year after having surgery. After that it was an Achilles problem, then his ankles, then his patella — all injuries that required significant recovery time. The man can’t seem to catch a break.

As part of a new launch of Adidas activewear, Gomez spoke with Jacamo and CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), an organization which helps to prevent suicide in the UK, Gomez opened up about how these injuries impacted his mental health and how he got through it.

“Once I got injured, I had a lot of spare time, I think that’s the biggest thing you notice as a player, that when you’re on the pitch training you don’t have time to be thinking, you’re just in your subconscious enjoying the game,” he explained.

“I had a couple of little injuries and then my last one with my hamstring was a big one and sort of did rock my world. It made me up my appreciation.

“Once I got back into football, I had other battles with worrying about my body and things that I couldn’t control aside from doing the work I needed to do. It’s just appreciation and being thankful that I can do what I still do. And drawing on to that to keep me motivated to still do my gym sessions, even when we come back from an away game.

“I just remember in those moments where it was tough, aside from that, just enjoying it.”

Gomez is 26-years-old and should be at his peak. He’s currently uninjured and made a late appearance in Liverpool’s victory against Bournemouth on Saturday. If he can continue doing well, then Klopp certainly has room for him in the defense to play a role this season. He just needs to stay healthy for more than two weeks at a time first.