Right, tenuous connection coming, but bear with me - my sister's boss's son works in the press office at Anfield. She was right about the Coutinho story on every step, and she tipped me off about Virgil four days before his signing was announced. So... believe this if you will, but the weekend after the derby, the medical staff were just as concerned with Thiago's injury as they were Virgil's, and several are still arguing that he needs a knee op now and should have had one last month to save his season. IF he comes back before Christmas, he's walking a tightrope that he could go at any time. But you can gladly shoot my sister - she's like Dot Cotton with constant Anfield 'insider' WhatsApp messages.
@JamesPearceLFC: "Thiago is close. So unless there's a setback I'd certainly expect to see him back in action soon. Trent is not far off. He could be back training after Ajax." #awlfc [the athletic] Hopefully no surgery is required ...
Just saw the Richarlison challenge again - absolutely disgusting. 3 match is nowhere near long enough for that sort of challenge.
Jürgen Klopp today provided an update on the fitness of Thiago Alcantara. The midfielder has not figured for Liverpool since sustaining a knee injury at Everton on October 17. Klopp confirmed Thiago is still working his way back to full fitness and expects to be without his services for a ‘few weeks still’. The manager told his pre-AFC Ajax press conference: “Thiago we have to maybe clarify it a little bit. “On that day when Thiago got injured in that challenge in the Everton game, there was another bad injury [to Virgil van Dijk] and after the scans it was like one was really bad news and the other one was really good news because nothing was broken, nothing was ruptured and stuff like this. “But, as we realise now, it was still a massive impact on the knee. The problem is in a situation like that, nothing is ruptured and nothing is broken and that means everybody thinks, ‘OK, you can go after a few days’, but the impact on the leg was that big that it is still not OK. “It is not massive and he trains from time to time, not in the moment because we just have to realise that we have to go a few further steps. I can’t say exactly when he will be fine, but it will take a few weeks still with Thiago.”
Can't have been far off. The Everton game was mid October and we won't see him again till the New Year
When I saw the initial tackle, I really thought he would have a break or rupture, especially when they replayed it is slow motion. It was cynical, you could see Ricarlison lined him up and Thiago took the full weight of a player on his standing leg. Much more severe punishment is needed for that kind of thuggery