There may never have been a Liverpool player more unlucky with injury than poor Joe Gomez.
The versatile defender saw his recent run in the team cut short on Saturday after going down with a muscle injury inside the first 25 minutes against Brighton.
Gomez had already played a key part for Liverpool, bravely winning the header which set up Hugo Ekitike to score inside the first minute at Anfield.
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Hugo Ekitike celebrates after scoring for Liverpool against Brighton in the Premier League at Anfield.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
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Sadly, the 28-year-old was soon heading for the showers, taken off to allow for Mohamed Salah’s headline-grabbing comeback.
It was another frustrating moment for Gomez, whose Liverpool career has been littered with them. But to add to the annoyance, this injury could have been avoided had Arne Slot simply taken his own advice this week.
Joe Gomez should not have played against Inter Milan
Part of the reason Gomez started against Brighton was because Conor Bradley was suspended for the match.
Slot had known since last Saturday that Bradley would be unable to play in this one, meaning Gomez was always going to have to feature at right-back.
Joe Gomez high fives Milos Kerkez as he leaves the pitch with an injury during Liverpool's Premier League match against Brighton at Anfield.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
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Despite being armed with that knowledge, Slot inexplicably chose to start Gomez during Tuesday’s win against Inter Milan.
Given Bradley’s unavailability for the weekend, it would surely have made much more sense to play the Northern Irishman in the Champions League.
As it turned out, Gomez played more than an hour in Milan, meaning the injury-prone stalwart had racked up 245 minutes across four games in just nine days. He was always going to struggle against Brighton.
Inevitably, he did. And after Slot’s admission that Gomez is unlikely to be ready for next weekend’s visit to Tottenham, Liverpool’s defensive worries have just got a whole lot deeper on the back of it.
What did you read into Salah’s full-time reaction at Anfield today?
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool pats the Liverpool badge on his shirt after the Premier League match between Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Will he play for Liverpool again?
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How long will Gomez be missing for?
Speaking to LFCTV post-match, Slot even admitted that it had been a risk to play Gomez as much as he has been doing.
“People now maybe understand a bit better why I was always so cautious not to play him so many games,” he said. “I assume many people thought, ‘If you have a defender, if you have a right full-back, why don’t you play him?'”
While what the Liverpool head coach is saying is true, it makes little sense that he decided to abandon this principle over Gomez in the one match he didn’t need to play him in.
Liverpool are set to learn the true extent of losing the former Charlton man at this time. His absence at right-back may be covered by the return of Jeremie Frimpong this week, but it means the Reds are now down to two fit, senior centre-halves as they head into a crucial period.
“If I have a player who goes off with a muscle injury like Joe, that’s normally not a positive thing,” Slot said. “I would not expect him to be in the squad next week [at Tottenham Hotspur]. But sometimes you get a positive surprise.”
Liverpool will need one if they are to avoid reaping the consequences of a problem of Slot’s own making.
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