Medical insider issues ‘red flag’ Luis Diaz claim after Liverpool twist
Luiz Diaz is likely to be out of action until March and his previous injury record will be a major worry to Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the recovery updates of Liverpool’s Colombian winger.
Diaz has not been spotted in the Premier League since early October when he limped off against Arsenal with an apparent knee injury.
The 25-year-old used the winter break to recover and return to the squad for Liverpool’s Dubai training camp, but he swiftly returned to the UK after complaining of discomfort in his knee and has since undergone surgery.
Liverpool reacted to this by agreeing the signing of Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven this week in a deal worth £37million rising to £44m with add-ons.
As quoted by The Athletic earlier this month (12 December), Klopp described the lateral collateral ligament injury as “a proper smash in the face”.
Dinnery believes Diaz’s previous injury record will prove to be a major worry for the German in the second half of the season, with the skilful winger unlikely to be back in a matchday squad until March at the earliest.
“It’s always difficult when you’re coming back from long-term injuries,” Dinnery told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“One of the main red flags, when you’re looking at potential availability for players, is looking at previous history records.
“This injury is part and parcel of the game and it’s a contact sport, but he’s progressing quite well.
“So, his potential return to play – a timeline which could be early March – then you know he’s made fairly good progress.
“But we know that a return to train and even a return to play isn’t necessarily a return to performance.
“Diaz will be coming off the back of those injuries and potentially be coming into a part of the season when Liverpool could be fighting on the domestic front, certainly cup competitions and maybe some European.
“But if Liverpool are to have any chance at competing for silverware, then they’ll need all their players performing quite well – something that could take Diaz time.“
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