Liverpool are about to head into one of the busiest periods of the season while sitting clear at the top of the Premier League.
The Reds have put themselves into a fantastic position as we approach the festive period.
But whether they can stay there or not beyond the end of December will be in no small part down to the availability of the Liverpool squad.
During Jurgen Klopp’s time at the club, seasons beset by injuries to key Liverpool players were a common theme.
When Arne Slot arrived to replace Klopp over the summer, one of his remits was ensuring that players spent fewer time on the treatment table and more minutes on the pitch.
Aided by a new-look Liverpool coaching staff, Slot has managed that so far, generally speaking. And journalist David Lynch has now given an insight into how he’s doing it.
(THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Arne Slot, head coach of Liverpool during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 training and pres...
Photo by Nikki Dyer – LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool trying ‘unusual’ method with days off
Things have not been perfect in regards to full availability this season at Liverpool, but that is rarely the case in football.
Nevertheless, there has been a general uptick in player fitness, with the likes of Ibrahima Konate able to put together better runs in the team than ever before.
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Inevitably, Konate is now injured. As are a handful of other important players for the Reds.
But according to Lynch, this is not for a wont of trying from the Liverpool coaches. Speaking on Anfield Agenda, the reporter says that Slot and his team have put some interesting new processes in place since arriving.
READ MORE: Whether Ibrahima Konate and Kostas Tsimikas will be back fit for Liverpool before 2025
“They’re trying to do everything they can, doing different warm-downs, different ways of warming up as well,” he says.
“More days off around training as well, I understand. There’s been some unusual situations where they’ve been given days off when you maybe wouldn’t expect it. They’re trying different things.”
Liverpool changes to have long-term effect
One of the big bonuses of Slot coming in was supposed to be that he had such a good record of having his players available at Feyenoord.
However, the Premier League is not the Eredivisie and Liverpool have already picked up a few problems.
Player Injury Expected Return Date
Ibrahima Konate Knee Late December
Kostas Tsimikas Unknown Late December
Diogo Jota Rib 1-2 weeks
Federico Chiesa Unknown 1-2 weeks
Conor Bradley Hamstring January
Liverpool’s current injury issues
Despite that, many of the issues sustained have been unavoidable. Diogo Jota and Konate’s injuries, for example, were impact problems, while Harvey Elliott suffered a fracture while away with England.
Alisson Becker has had a history with issues and hopefully having been given more than two months to get right, the Brazilian can call on these new methods to stay fit moving forward.
There are always going to be issues such as these during seasons, that is just football. But with the Liverpool coaches doing all they can to mitigate these risks, hopefully the long-term effects will still be good for the Reds.
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