Liverpool winger Xherdan Shaqiri will miss tonight’s Carabao Cup clash away to MK Dons with a calf injury.
The Liverpool Echo reported that the Switzerland international went for a medical assessment yesterday after incurring the injury, with scans revealing a small tear in his calf.
According to the Liverpool Echo, the Reds’ assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders said that the 27-year-old felt a stiffness in his calf towards the end of training yesterday which ended his involvement in the session and has ruled him out of contention for the trip to the League One side tonight.
Shaqiri, who is valued at £22.5 million (by Transfermarkt), ended 2018 on a real high with four goals in December, including two in a 3-1 win over Manchester United, but 2019 has seen his fortunes at Liverpool nosedive drastically.
He hasn’t scored for the club in this calendar year and has had just two Premier League starts in that time, the most recent of those against Leicester eight months ago.
Assists in memorable wins over Newcastle and Barcelona towards the end of last season may have raised Shaqiri’s hopes of making a more frequent contribution this term, but so far that has not been the case.
He has played a paltry 25 minutes across Liverpool’s first nine matches of the season, with his 11-minute Community Shield cameo the longest involvement he has had in any of his four appearances. [via TransferMarkt.co.uk]
Shaqiri was certainly not a disastrous signing from Stoke last season – his respective tallies of six goals and five assists were bettered by only five players in the Reds’ squad – but with those contributions heavily weighted towards the first half of the campaign, form has been an issue for the 27-year-old.
Divock Origi scored only one more goal than Shaqiri last season, but six of his seven came from January onwards, while the Belgium forward has also been on target this season against Norwich.
Shaqiri’s injury could hardly have come at a more inopportune time, given that he is not the only Liverpool forward ruled out of action for tonight – the Liverpool Echo reported that Sadio Mane and Origi have also been sidelined.
Jurgen Klopp may also want to rest Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, both of whom have played in every match this season, which would have opened the door for Shaqiri to start tonight.
The sparsity of forward options could force the manager to deviate from his preferred 4-3-3 formation, deploy midfielders such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in wide attacking roles or play Salah or Firmino (maybe both) from the start. Shaqiri’s absence through injury is likely to be a source of frustration not just for the player, but also his manager.
Liverpool fans, how disappointing is it that Shaqiri won’t feature tonight? Do you think he can forge his way back into the first choice XI this season? Have your say by commenting below!
