Liverpool’s brilliant 1-0 win over title rivals Manchester City was marred by an injury to their influential skipper Jordan Henderson.
The England international was replaced by Divock Origi in the 64th minute after being seen limping and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has said that he has no idea about the seriousness of the injury.
Confirming that the substitution was not tactical, Klopp after the win over City said:“It was not tactical. “It was a kind of injury with the heel. I was aware he was limping a bit. I don’t know exactly. I hope it’s not too serious but I cannot say.”
The Reds are already missing some key players due to injury and if Henderson is ruled out, it will be a huge blow for them.
Philippe Coutinho, who injured his ankle in November, has still not recovered while Joel Matip is also recovering from an ankle injury. Danny Ings is already ruled out for the entire season and with Sadio Mane set to leave for Africa Cup Of Nations after the game against Sunderland on January 2, Henderson’s absence will be badly felt. The Liverpool skipper has played every Premier League game this season and has made more passes than any player in the league.
Meanwhile, the win over Manchester City has helped the Reds move four points away from third-placed City and six points adrift of leaders Chelsea.
A Georiginio Wijnaldum header in the eighth minute was enough for the Reds to extend their unbeaten run at Anfield but the performance was far away from their trademark fluid play they have displayed this season. However, Klopp looked happy with the result and insisted that winning the game is all that matters in the big games.
He said: “Games like this are very difficult and it’s not like we had a plan from the first second to stay deeper than other games but you have to learn and adapt in games.
“Tonight it was the kind of game where we knew we had to be compact and were very high, particularly at the beginning.
“We were not cool enough in possession the whole night. We gave it away too easily. But they couldn’t create real chances and that brought in the intensity. It was a wild game. We had two big chances in the first half. So it was intense. It wasn’t about philosophy. About adapting to the opponent. We didn’t want to show how good we are. We want points,” he added.