Liverpool are blessed to have the mercurial talents of Thiago Alcantara in the middle of our midfield but one former Red has delivered a slightly bizarre assessment of the Spanish international.
Speaking with Midnite.com (via Metro), Glen Johnson said: ‘It’s one of those, Thiago is great when he plays and you wish he could play every week.
‘But he should be fit for every game every week, because he’s that player that strolls about and does not sprint, so he shouldn’t have as many muscle injuries, Thiago doesn’t get hurt in a game is what I mean.
READ MORE: (Video) Tyler Morton provides an assist for Blackburn after brilliant cross and wing play
‘Thiago does get some strange injuries and misses games for strange reasons, but he can’t be replaced, he just needs to get out there and play.’
It feels a little like our former defender has failed in an attempt to praise our No.6 here, the point he is trying to make is that he is so valuable to our side that we need him playing every week.
It’s no secret that the former Bayern Munich man is often found on the treatment table and his recent ear infection that saw him miss the trip to Nottingham, was certainly another example of that.
However, to say that the 31-year-old only ‘strolls about’ is supremely unfair and his efforts defensively show that he is more than able and willing to put the hard yards in and try to win possession back.
When a player is so good on the ball it can look like they have a lot of time and that they don’t need to run, the former Barcelona maestro is just one of these players.
Yes, he is vital to Jurgen Klopp’s team and needs to be playing most or all games.
Yes, he does pick up some strange and untimely injuries.
To say he doesn’t run though, is unfair.
The post Ex-Red bemoans Thiago’s ‘strange’ injuries when he ‘strolls about and does not sprint’ appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
