Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain may miss the entirety of the 2018/19 season as he continues to recover from a serious injury.
Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered multiple ligament damage during Liverpool’s 5-2 first-leg win over Roma in the semi-finals of the Champions League back in April.
The midfielder had endured a slow start to his Liverpool career having joined from Arsenal last summer but had improved and was soon becoming irreplaceable in the starting XI.
But his injury robbed him of a chance to play for Liverpool in the Champions League final and, perhaps more devastating, miss out on England’s 23-man squad for the World Cup in which they finished fourth – missing a player of Oxlade-Chamberlain’s ability.
The 24-year-old underwent surgery shortly after suffering the injury though no lay-off time had been confirmed at the time. But now, manager Klopp has revealed the expected length of Oxlade-Chamberlain’s rehabilitation.
“It feels like now is an appropriate time to tell people that for Ox this coming season will be about focusing on recovery and rehab,” he told Liverpool’s official website.
“We have known this from pretty much the day after he got the injury and after the successful surgery, we were sure of it. I hope everyone treats this information responsibly. There has been no change, no setback – it’s exactly on the schedule we expected and planned for. The new information is that we’re now giving more detail publicly.
“It is typical of Ox that he didn’t want the news to overshadow the end of the season and, to be quite honest, we thought we could wait and tell people at an appropriate time.
“His surgery – which he had on the day of our second leg in Roma – has been completely successful and his recovery has started superbly well.
“But the truth of the matter is that we are preparing this season knowing he will not be with us on the pitch for competitive matches for the majority of it. If we do see him back this season it will be a bonus.”
Klopp also revealed why the decision was made to reveal the exact length now, to ensure no pressure was put on Oxlade-Chamberlain to make an early return and possibly further his injury problems.
He added: “It is so important – because of how valuable and important he is to what we are looking to do here in the coming seasons – that the focus is on doing this right and not rushed. Ox is completely on board with this approach.
“He is such an outstandingly good person and someone who even when not playing is integral to the heartbeat of Melwood.
“I cannot wait to have him back with us for matches, but we will wait for him and we will show the patience that is required to make sure he comes back ready to continue where he left off: as one of the most outstanding performers in European football in that moment.”
Since joining Liverpool on the final day of last summer’s transfer window, Oxlade-Chamberlain made 42 appearances for the Reds in all competitions, scoring five goals and recording eight assists.
The post Oxlade-Chamberlain set to miss 2018/19 season as Liverpool release injury update appeared first on Squawka News.
From Squawka NewsSquawka News https://ift.tt/2zPyiBf
No comments:
Post a Comment