After the humiliating 3-0 home defeat to West Ham (the first time that's happened in 50 years), Liverpool need to bounce back against Manchester United at Old Trafford next week, and failure to get a result will inevitably heap even more pressure on Reds boss Brendan Rodgers. To beat United, Liverpool will need the club's top attacking players stand up and be counted, but Coutinho is suspended, and it appears that two of LFC's most important attackers are also in danger of missing the game.
Over the last week, Daniel Sturridge has been doing individual fitness work at Melwood, but according to The Mirror:
"Daniel Sturridge is unable to rejoin first-team training until the end of the week at the earliest and that rules him OUT of a return against Manchester United".
To add insult to injury, Christian Benteke has picked up a thigh injury, which means he may join Sturridge and Coutinho on the sidelines for the Man United game.
Announcing Benteke's injury, Belgium boss Marc Wilmots told ESPN:
"The medical team will see how the injury develops. If he doesn't train because he feels discomfort again, he won't play on Thursday. There are enough replacements."
Thigh strains can take a while to fully heal, and according to Four Four Two magazine's injury clinic:
"A small strain (grade one): seven to 10 days [on the sidelines). If the fibres are more damaged (grade two)...expect 2-8 weeks. A grade three thigh strain is very serious, with a treatment time of 8-weeks or more".
If Benteke is out for '7-10 days' over the international period, then he won't be able to training properly, which almost certainly means he won't make the Man United game.
It's even more of a worry given the Belgian's injury history. Over the last two completed seasons:
* 214 days out injured.
* 20 games missed overall.
Hopefully, Benteke - hailed by Steven Gerrard as 'unplayable - won't play tonight, and he'll take the extra time to heal properly. If, however, he plays on Sunday, there's a chance that the injury will reoccur, which will almost certainly rule him out of Man United.
As such, for Liverpool's sake, Benteke should just sit out the rest of the entire international break, but given Belgium's intense competition up-front, I'm sure he's eager to solidify a position in the team.
Can Liverpool beat Man United without Benteke (cost: £32.5m, Coutinho (CIES valuation: £40m) and Sturridge (CIES valuation: £18m)
Food for thought: Both Liverpool goals this season have been scored by...Benteke and Coutinho.
Author: Jaimie K
Over the last week, Daniel Sturridge has been doing individual fitness work at Melwood, but according to The Mirror:
"Daniel Sturridge is unable to rejoin first-team training until the end of the week at the earliest and that rules him OUT of a return against Manchester United".
To add insult to injury, Christian Benteke has picked up a thigh injury, which means he may join Sturridge and Coutinho on the sidelines for the Man United game.
Announcing Benteke's injury, Belgium boss Marc Wilmots told ESPN:
"The medical team will see how the injury develops. If he doesn't train because he feels discomfort again, he won't play on Thursday. There are enough replacements."
Thigh strains can take a while to fully heal, and according to Four Four Two magazine's injury clinic:
"A small strain (grade one): seven to 10 days [on the sidelines). If the fibres are more damaged (grade two)...expect 2-8 weeks. A grade three thigh strain is very serious, with a treatment time of 8-weeks or more".
If Benteke is out for '7-10 days' over the international period, then he won't be able to training properly, which almost certainly means he won't make the Man United game.
It's even more of a worry given the Belgian's injury history. Over the last two completed seasons:
* 214 days out injured.
* 20 games missed overall.
Hopefully, Benteke - hailed by Steven Gerrard as 'unplayable - won't play tonight, and he'll take the extra time to heal properly. If, however, he plays on Sunday, there's a chance that the injury will reoccur, which will almost certainly rule him out of Man United.
As such, for Liverpool's sake, Benteke should just sit out the rest of the entire international break, but given Belgium's intense competition up-front, I'm sure he's eager to solidify a position in the team.
Can Liverpool beat Man United without Benteke (cost: £32.5m, Coutinho (CIES valuation: £40m) and Sturridge (CIES valuation: £18m)
Food for thought: Both Liverpool goals this season have been scored by...Benteke and Coutinho.
Author: Jaimie K
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