Paul Scholes has suggested that Jordan Henderson may have ‘fallen out’ with Jurgen Klopp after the Liverpool captain was named as a substitute for the Reds’ trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The FA Cup champions fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at the City Ground after ex-Red Taiwo Awoniyi earned the hosts all three points early in the second half.
The Liverpool No. 14 was introduced just after the hour mark but failed to have the desired impact on the game with Klopp’s men now sat seventh in the table and five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
“He has Jordan Henderson on the bench, he should be playing,” Scholes told MatchDay Extra on Premier League Productions (via HITC). “He is the leader of the team. He’s the captain and the one, the Casemiro type of role, and he gets everyone ticking around.
“He seems to have fallen out with him or carrying an injury. There is something not quite right there.”
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Henderson has spent time on the sidelines with a hamstring injury this season but is now believed to have returned to full fitness meaning his omission from the starting XI was purely a tactical decision from the German boss.
He hasn’t been at his best in recent weeks, however, and there are suggestions that the 32-year-old is now struggling to keep up with the demands of this Liverpool side as consistently as he once could.
His importance to the squad remains undoubted as he is a real leader and someone that sets examples both on and off the pitch, but you’d have every right to suggest that it was Thiago Alcantara that was severely missed in the middle of the park yesterday rather than the England international.
Curtis Jones failed to impress while despite the efforts of Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho, we didn’t really look like scoring from open play.
Henderson has completed a full 90 minutes just three times this term and at the moment it appears that Klopp could be gradually phasing him out of the side.