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Arne Slot has often cited injuries as a reason for Liverpool’s poor results, but the numbers don’t support his claim.
The Dutchman has come under far more pressure this season than he would have expected after leading Liverpool to a Premier League title in his debut campaign.
But football is a results business, and the Reds have fallen far short in that regard.
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He’s our most important player right now, not Szoboszlai
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It would be disingenuous to suggest injuries haven’t played a role, however, a new report shows Liverpool are nowhere near being the most affected by that unavoidable part of the game.
The stats behind Liverpool’s injury problems
We have been hit by injuries in some key areas.
Liverpool have had right-back issues all season, with both Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley sidelined for significant time.
Record-breaking signing Alexander Isak broke his leg, leaving just one striker available for Slot with Jayden Danns also out of action.
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With that being said, a Premier League injury report carried out by The Athletic tells a less sympathetic story.
The numbers are correct up to January 31st, and show Liverpool as having dealt with 19 injuries. Their incidence rate — how many injuries a team has suffered for every 1,000 minutes played — is 6.
That puts them at 10th in the league, so pretty much average.
The other metric used was Return to Play. That’s measured in days until a player is expected back. Liverpool rank 11th in that area, again nothing to say their injuries have been exceptionally impactful.
Arsenal and Chelsea have been hit far worse, as have relegation-threatened Spurs.
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For that reason, Slot should park the injury talk. Sure, the profiles that are out matter too, but apart from right-back, we have had the depth to cover.
Isak will return in the coming weeks, and Frimpong has been spotted in Liverpool training. Now, if we could keep any further lengthy absences from happening, that would be just swell.
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