Liverpool’s number one goalkeeper Alisson Becker became the most recent top-level player in Merseyside to pick up an injury last weekend.
He joins the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott on the sidelines.
The Brazilian picked up a hamstring injury in the 79th minute of Liverpool’s 1-0 away win at Crystal Palace.
This is just yet another injury occurring as questions continue to be asked about football’s ever-growing calendar. Is it too much?
Manchester City’s Rodri was at the forefront of the movement campaigning against the congested fixture list.
FIFA Have recently introduced the new formats for the UEFA Champions League and Club World Cup. The Champions League has now been changed to allow 36 teams to take part rather than the traditional 32.
The Club World Cup has also been raised to 32 teams, completely changing the format into a month-long tournament four weeks before the start of the Premier League.
The 2026 World Cup will also be expanded to 48 teams, changing from the 32 which featured in the last seven editions of the tournament.
A player such as Rodri, who is a vital part of a top Premier League team, could play 69 games a season for club alone due to the extended Champions League and Club World Cup tournaments now being in place. With international tournaments and friendlies, this number could, in theory, rise to more than 80.
Ten years ago, Sergio Busquets played 63 games for club and country, just showing how many extra games are now being played in the footballing calendar. Barcelona won the treble in that campaign, playing the maximum number of games they could.
The Manchester City midfielder has himself been sidelined with a cruciate ligament injury, leaving him out of action for the remainder of the 24/25 season.
This could be the same for a player such as Mac Allister, who was forced out of action due to a groin injury against Crystal Palace. The Argentine has featured in 62 games for club and country over the past season, including a Copa America winning campaign.
In the 2013/14 season, in which Liverpool challenged for the Premier League, Steven Gerrard played 47 times for club and country. A 15-game increase from ten years ago signifies the changes continuing to be made by FIFA.
Liverpool did not compete in a European competition that season, but take away Mac Allister’s six Europa League appearances from the campaign and the difference would still be nine games extra.
According to www.premierinjuries.com , the 23/24 Premier League campaign had the highest number of players missing at least one game due to injury than any of the previous 20 seasons they recorded with 655 cases.
Injuries had risen 11% from the previous campaign and hamstring injuries continue to rise, going up a further 18%. As the fixtures become more congested, injuries continue to occur more regularly for high profile players around the globe.
Hamstring injuries are linked to muscle fatigue, a factor which is brought about by playing a lot of games in a short amount of time. Premier Injuries’ Ben Dinnery spoke about how serious fatigue is for injuries.
“With fatigue, you’re fine until your body reaches the breaking point and then you have a problem. The biggest red flag with injuries is fatigue,” he said.
Manchester City had the fewest number of individual players injured last season, showing their ability to rotate their squad because of the number of elite players they have in their ranks.
Throughout the season, Premier League players missed 25,131 minutes throughout the season. Crystal Palace were the side hit by injury most often, suffering 10 injuries on average per 1000 minutes played, equating to one injury per 100 minutes of football.
Liverpool and Everton had 35 and 33 “time-loss injuries” throughout the season respectively, adding up to a total of 2215 days missed by players due to being sidelined.
The Red half of Merseyside were joint second in the table for most individual players hit by injury, with 21 different members of the squad missing out on action throughout the season.
The extent of the injuries is emphasised by the debuts given to LFC youth academy players last season.
James McConnell, Conor Bradley, Owen Beck and Jayden Danns all made their debuts under Jurgen Klopp as injuries continued to plague the squad.
It is no coincidence injury cases continue to rise with the number of games currently being scheduled in the calendar. As players continue to share their thoughts on strikes to reduce the amount of fixtures, how far do the injuries have to go until the football landscape is once again changed?
