Legend raves: 'Brilliant' £20m Liverpool star is 'one of the best' but he 'needs to' perform after injury

After a great start to the season, Adam Lallana is currently injured, but Glen Hoddle insists that injury cannot be used an excuse for any future dip in form.

Speaking to the Daily Mail this week, Hoddle explained:

"Lallana [was] one of the best performers in the Premier League prior to his injury. He needs to make sure this spell doesn't peter out following the injury which saw him limp off for Liverpool against Swansea".

Given Lallana's poor form after past injuries, this is a valid concern, and his stats after returning from injury show this (Date = return to first-team action)

* 02 Sep 2014: 1 goal/assist in 12 games.

* 20 Jan 2015: 3 goals/assists in 21 games.

* 25 Apr 2015: 1 goal/assist in 6 games.

* 17 Sep 2015: 4 goals/assists in 17 games.

* 25 Feb 2016: 4 goals/assists in 14 games.

The good news is that Lallana - hailed last month by Jurgen Klopp for his 'brilliant' performances - is incrementally improving his post-injury creative return, so hopefully the trend will continue when he's back from his latest injury issue.

^ May 2016: Linked with a £20m summer move to Spurs.