Liverpool’s Unexpected Break Gives The Squad A Chance At Recovery

When the season kicked off, the last thing that anyone at Liverpool Football Club would’ve wanted was a break in the already condensed, World Cup interrupted, season. But then the club found themselves on a mere 9 points after 6 matches, on the receiving end of a 4-1 beating in the first match in the Champions League, and in the midst of an injury crisis.

Thankfully, this weird, increasingly provincial and nationalistic island decided everyone needed to prostrate themselves because a completely unpredictable thing happened: a 96-year-old woman died of natural causes.

The upshot, domestically, is that Liverpool had the Premier League matches against Wolves and Chelsea postponed. This, in turn, allowed Jurgen Klopp’s Reds to have an unexpected rest last weekend, and then turn in arguably the best performance of the season against Ajax in the Champions League, buoyed by the return of previously injured stars Thiago and Diogo Jota.

Liverpool are also the benefactors of another week of rest this weekend, since police resources are being diverted away from football matches, and toward arresting protesters.

This, in conjunction with the upcoming international break, means that Liverpool have until Saturday October 1st to rest and recover. Considering end of last season and the beginning of this one, a mental reset might be just as important as a physical one.

According to Klopp, he expects to get captain Jordan Henderson and Ibrahima Konate to be back in or around international break, presumably meaning both will be nearing game readiness when action resumes in October.

Curtis Jones and Andy Robertson remain doubts, but Caoimhin Kelleher remain should also be nearing a return.

Lastly, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be out until the end of October. Naby Keita on the other hand, is out for the foreseeable, with an apparent strained relationship muscle.

The two postponed fixtures still pose challenges, for example, the question of when the hell these matches will ever be played. But considering the form that Liverpool were in, and the significant mental and physical fatigue, this is probably a good problem to have on balance.