Liverpool’s defensive midfielder Fabinho is facing an extended spell on the sidelines following an ankle injury. The player sustained ankle ligament damage during the Reds’ Champions League group game against Napoli. This represents a big blow for Liverpool; they are yet to lose a league game that Fabinho has started.
Fabinho to Miss Festive Period
Crucial Time
The injury to Fabinho means that he will miss several games that will be crucial to Liverpool’s season. He was already suspended for the weekend’s game against Brighton & Hove Albion due to picking up five yellow cards, but this injury means he will miss even more fixtures. Amongst these games are next week’s Merseyside Derby against Everton and a potentially huge game on boxing day against Leicester City.
Fabinho will also miss Liverpool’s Club World Cup campaign in Qatar, though the Reds should still have enough to succeed abroad. In addition, he will also miss out on what has become a must not lose game in Salzburg as Klopp’s men seek to qualify for the Champions League knockout phase.
The full list of Premier League games that Fabinho will be absent for is: Brighton, Everton, Bournemouth, Watford, Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers. He will also miss the Carabao Cup tie against Aston Villa, though he wasn’t expected to be involved in that competition.
Options for Liverpool
During pre-season and the Carabao Cup, Jurgen Klopp has experimented with Adam Lallana in the holding role to varying degrees of success. This represents a realistic option for Liverpool until Fabinho recovers.
Lallana is not the only option to replace Fabinho though. Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum have both produced solid performances in the role. Moving one of these players further back would free up space in the starting eleven for one of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Naby Keita.
It is also possible that Liverpool switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation, one that they used during the hectic festive period last season. This would allow for a double pivot in midfield and allow fringe players such as Xherdan Shaqiri or Divock Origi to feature more prominently in their preferred roles.
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