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Dejan Lovren has certainly been (rightfully) maligned this season by Liverpool supporters. In his year and change with the club, he's done little to justify his £20M price tag, and done even less to justify his regular starting spot ahead of Mamadou Sakho.
Regardless, the last thing we would wish on a player is a lengthy layoff due to a particularly nasty knock, and that is precisely what Lovren faces now after last night's altogether calamitous League Cup affair.
As the final minutes slowly ticked by on the full 120 minutes of regulation, a penalty shoot-out seemed all but inevitable as Liverpool was merely content to pass it around and attempt worldies from 25-40 yards out. If you had predicted "regular starters going 120 minutes with three days rest and embarrassing the club in the process" as the worst possible outcome, seeing Lovren in agony clutching his ankle was a good reminder that it can get worse.
Some injuries appear to be innocuous but are really nasty. Some appear nasty from the start, and this was one of those. The medical staff immediately put the defender's leg in an air cast, and provided him with oxygen before carrying him off in a stretcher.
Further scans will reveal the extent of the injury, but according to The Echo, the defender can expect a minimum of two months off with suspected ankle ligament damage.
We wish the big man some good news with his scan, and of course a speedy recovery whatever the prognosis. In the meantime, Liverpool will be left precariously thin at center back.
Roberto Firmino also came off early with a knock after landing awkwardly from an aerial challenge, but no word yet as to the severity of his injury.
