Matip Injury Update: Good News For Once

Injuries were, shall we say, "problematic" last season for Liverpool. At times, it seemed like a player was going down with a serious injury every single game. Changes in management and playing style, as well as lengthy League Cup and Europa League runs, only seemed to exacerbate the problem. The position of center back was particularly problematic, bringing to mind a certain combustible drummer from Spinal Tap. Indeed, life-long midfielder Lucas Leiva found his way into the side on several occasions as a make-shift fifth-choice center back.

That "shit luck" (as boss Jürgen Klopp would no doubt refer to it) has continued into this summer with injuries to Mamadou Sakho and Joe Gomez. These injuries, paired with the departures of Kolo Toure and Martin Skrtel, have already forced Liverpool to make an unexpected splash in the transfer market for some veteran cover at the back, likely bringing in Ragnar Klavan in short order.

So, when shiny new center back Joel Matip limped off the pitch with only a few minutes to go in the friendly against Wigan Sunday night, Liverpool fans could be forgiven for expecting the worst. Thankfully, Matip will not be adding his name to the long list of center back casualties from the last year, as a scan showed no serious injuries to the ankle of the former Schalke defender.

There is no word yet whether Matip will feature in Wednesday night's friendly against Huddersfield Town, but he will be joining the rest of the team for their North American tour the following week. That is unless he spontaneously combusts.