Former England defender Joe Gomez joined Liverpool from Charlton in the summer of 2015. Now that Jordan Henderson has left, the defender, who has become the oldest player in the squad, was initially used as a left back as well.
However, he was plagued by repeated injuries at Anfield, often missing large parts of the season due to serious injuries. In his first season with the club, he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, followed by a series of injuries to his Achilles tendon and patella. He has also experienced many other minor injuries.
The 26-year-old center back, who has spent a lot of time rehabbing throughout his career, has revealed that the injuries themselves have been difficult and painful.
But he has also said that they have given him the mental strength to appreciate the fact that he is still able to play professionally at the top level.
“The injuries I had were rough at times. I think the first one caught me at a vulnerable time when I had just come up to Liverpool. I was only 18 and had just moved up by myself so it was tough in a sense that I was like on a new journey, living by myself and dealing with that,”
“Once I got injured, I had a lot of spare time,”
“I think that’s the biggest thing you notice as a player, that when you’re on the pitch training you don’t have time to be thinking, you’re just in your subconscious enjoying the game.”
“But I used that experience. I had a couple of little injuries and then my last one with my hamstring,” sustained against Real Madrid in February this year, “was a big one and sort of did rock my world.”
“It made me up my appreciation. Once I got back into football, I had other battles with worrying about my body and things that I couldn’t control aside from doing the work I needed to do. It’s just appreciation and being thankful that I can do what I still do.”
“I am drawing on to that to keep me motivated to still do my gym sessions, even when we come back from an away game. I just remember in those moments where it was tough, aside from that, just enjoying it.”
Jacamo and CALM
In the 2019/20 season, when they won the Premier League, they combined perfectly with Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk, who was instrumental in helping them win the title of champions of England for the first time in 30 years.
Since then, his performances have not fully returned to the level of the winning season, and his erratic playing style currently places him fourth in the pecking order.
This season, he is likely to be used more as a right back, but he is still only 26 years old, an age at which he is capable of a second chance.
Can the center back, who has been away from the England national team for some time, take over the position from strong rivals such as Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip…?