The sight of Alisson Becker leaving the pitch through injury will have had Liverpool fans burying their heads in their hands this afternoon.
The Brazilian went down with a hamstring problem with just under 15 minutes of normal time remaining against Crystal Palace and couldn’t continue. With usual second-choice Caoimhin Kelleher not in the matchday squad due to illness, Vitezslav Jaros duly came on for his senior Reds debut.
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Paul Gorst couldn’t help but notice how angry the 32-year-old looked after he shipped that body blow, posting on the Liverpool Echo’s live matchday blog (14:05): “Alisson is down holding the back of his leg. Not looking good. He was forced to shank a left-footed clearance out of play and he’s just palmed the ground in frustration..”
Alisson’s world-class credentials have long since been beyond doubt, but the regularity with which he picks up injury problems must be a source of frustration for Liverpool fans.
The Brazilian missed two months of last season with a hamstring issue and was also sidelined for a couple of games in September, with Kelleher available to cover both of those absences.
The impending international break at least gives us 15 days before we’re in action again, but the worry is that a body blow of this nature will take more than a fortnight from which to recover.
Liverpool’s Irish goalkeeper has made no secret of his desire to establish himself as a first-choice starter, but Anfield chiefs will now be extremely glad that they didn’t cash in on him during the summer considering Alisson’s latest injury.
Fingers crossed it isn’t too serious and we’ll have him back on the pitch sooner rather than later.
