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There was a ten-minute stretch in Monday night's loss at Manchester City that saw three Liverpool players hit the turf, all of whom fell injured after Brendan Rodgers had--for the first and last time ever--used all of his substitutions. Glen Johnson hit the deck on a burst forward, Martin Skrtel was felled at the defensive end, and Alberto Moreno twisted his ankle on the artificial turf that runs alongside the pitch at the Etihad. Skrtel and Moreno remained on after Johnson limped off, and all three reportedly spent the week recovering.
In much, much more positive news, this week was also apparently the last one needed for Adam Lallana before he could be named in the squad, as Brendan Rodgers has declared him ready for action, albeit limited in scope:
"Adam will be in the squad, for sure. He has looked fantastic in training. Of course he is well short of match fitness but in training for the last couple of weeks he has been exceptional.
"We'll see closer to the game. Young [Alberto] Moreno twisted his ankle, which was unfortunate, but he has been recovering well this week. Glen Johnson is probably the one that it could be difficult for, with a thigh problem. Jose Enrique has been back training for over a week, and looks very strong and fit. But, again, he hasn't had a lot of game time. We'll see over the next 48 hours."
That leaves the fullback options cloudy, and with Rodgers also indicating that Skrtel could miss out, Liverpool's entire back line is up in the air with less than two days to go. Right now what seems clear is that Javier Manquillo and Dejan Lovren will feature, and Moreno's ankle injury seems minor enough that he should be available. He might have to be if neither of Johnson nor Enrique is ready; Jon Flanagan isn't back to full heath yet either, leaving options suddenly limited at the back barring a cameo for Mamadou Sakho at fullback, though the French center-half may be needed to partner Lovren given the fact that Skrtel might miss out and Daniel Agger isn't healthy.
Fitting, this. Liverpool only get stronger going forward, with Lallana ready and Mario Balotelli included for the first time since signing this week, but nobody knows what the hell is happening defensively.
