Emre Can Set to Miss Remainder of Season with Back Injury

Emre Can may have played his final match for Liverpool following an admission from manager Jürgen Klopp that while there isn’t a specific timeline when it comes to his back injury, they don’t expect him to be fit again before the end of the season.

Speaking with Sky Germany in the buildup to today’s Champions League quarter final second leg against Manchester City, Klopp gave a simple, straightforward, and far from ideal “yes” as the answer when asked if Can’s season was now over.

This comes shortly after Klopp told English journalists that he still hopes Can’s recovery might be “a little bit quicker than maybe we thought.” At the time, there was no clarification as to how long the club “thought” his injury recovery might take.

Following the Sky Germany admission, that at least seems cleared up—though not, needless to say, in a manner that can be considered good for the club or player, who is still widely expected to end up leaving Liverpool when his contract expires in the summer.

In the summer, though, at least a replacement would be expected to arrive. For now, Liverpool will have to make do with Jordan Henderson—a player with his own history of injury and who is suspended for tonight’s game—and Gini Wijnaldum.

When available, Henderson will be clear first choice to play the six, though for Wijnaldum—a player without much of a history at the position who has ended up something of a spare part this year—there is a chance to stake a claim to an increased role.