One journalist has warned Liverpool fans they shouldn’t expect to see too much of Luis Diaz between now and the end of the season.
The Colombian marked his return from a six-month layoff with a knee injury when he appeared as a late substitute in the Reds’ 6-1 win at Leeds last Monday (LFC official website), and could be in line to feature against Nottingham Forest today.
However, Pete O’Rourke believes Jurgen Klopp will be conservative with the 26-year-old’s game-time given the length of his convalescence and the depth of options in his forward line.
He told GIVEMESPORT: “It was great to see Diaz back playing after that bad knee injury picked up earlier in the season. I don’t think Klopp will be taking any risks with Diaz right now.
“He’s got a lot of players he can choose from in the attacking positions right now with most of his players fit, so I don’t think he’ll take a risk with Diaz.
“He’ll probably be easing him back into action like he did at Elland Road if he can, just to get minutes under his belt between now and the end of the season. The real thing for Diaz now will be to come back fit and raring to go next season.”
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O’Rourke makes some valid points regarding Klopp’s probable reluctance to overload the £55,000-per-week Colombian (FBref) too soon, particularly with Mo Salah, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota all available.
All four of those were on target in the win at Leeds, with the starting trio scoring five between them, so it’d be a surprise if Liverpool’s front three was altered from the Elland Road romp.
However, today’s match is the first of five in a 15-day period, so squad rotation could be pivotal as the Reds hope to instigate a late surge for a Champions League finish.
That compact fixture schedule should afford Diaz some opportunities to break back into the starting line-up, especially if he can make the most of any substitute cameos he receives in the meantime.
It’s not too late for the 26-year-old to have an important say in the rest of Liverpool’s campaign, and ideally a rest followed by an uninterrupted pre-season should have him primed for the start of 2023/24.