Luis Diaz of Liverpool to March out after surgery
Liverpool striker Luis Diaz will be sidelined for three months after successfully undergoing knee surgery.
The knee problem stems from an injury during Liverpool’s defeat to Arsenal earlier in the season in early October. Thomas Partey and the Colombia international collided. However, Diaz left the match as it was revealed he damaged his lateral collateral ligament in his left knee.
Originally, Liverpool’s medical staff believed he would miss less time. In fact, he should have been ready to play as soon as the World Cup ended. Consequently, he returned to training with the Anfield club and took part in the short tour at the World Cup.
However, the attacker complained of pain in the same knee during training. After further testing and examination, doctors recommended surgery. Now is the attacker out of service until March.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp knows the injury is a blow to a Liverpool side that was not there top form this season.
“To be honest, it was a non-situation in training,” said Klopp. “Nothing, [then Diaz] felt something. [He] didn’t feel much the next day, but we wanted to be really careful and said, ‘Okay, come on. Let’s see.
“Then the news came and it was a straight slap in the face.”
Luis Diaz’s surgery comes at an inconvenient time
Although the injury hurt Liverpool, it was at a ‘good’ time. With the World Cup approaching and Colombia failing to qualify, the attacker had a month and a half to heal and get back to fitness.
Now Luis Diaz is out through March with this surgery. That includes missing some crucial games across multiple leagues.
For example, Diaz will miss at least the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 draw with Real Madrid. That is scheduled for February 21. However, he could potentially return for the March 15 away game. But for that to happen, the attacker would have to recover quickly.
Liverpool also have cup games against Manchester City in the League Cup and Wolves in the FA Cup shortly after players return from the World Cup. Liverpool performed well without Diaz after that game against Arsenal.
The Reds won eight games in all competitions, even though they lost twice in league games, leaving the club in sixth place. Even then, the loss of Diaz puts more pressure on the other attackers available to Klopp for a longer period of time.
PHOTO: IMAGO / News images
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