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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Ian Doyle

Joe Gomez given stark Liverpool reminder after Jurgen Klopp decision

Turf Moor will never rank among a list of favourite stadiums for Joe Gomez.

Indeed, the Liverpool defender hasn't kicked a ball there since suffering a fractured leg when caught by a heavy challenge from Burnley defender Ben Mee back in December 2018.

Gomez, though, will be desperate for minutes when the Reds make their latest trip to deepest Lancashire on Sunday.

No wonder. The centre-back this week became an unwitting indicator of the strength in depth currently at the disposal of Jurgen Klopp by failing to make even the bench for Thursday's 2-0 Premier League win over Leicester City.

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It was the latest sign Gomez has fallen behind both Joel Matip and £36million summer signing Ibrahima Konate in the pecking order to partner Virgil van Dijk at the heart of Reds defence.

All too often, the defender has been a victim of circumstance during his Liverpool career.

His injury at Burnley came at a time when he was a regular alongside Van Dijk. By the time he returned, Joel Matip was in his place, Gomez restricted to a brief outing from the bench in the Champions League final win over Tottenham Hotspur.

The following campaign, though, saw him capitalise on an injury to Matip to become a consistent starter from December onwards as the Reds romped to the Premier League title.

But as he prepared to assume the extra responsibility last campaign in the wake of Van Dijk's season-ending injury, Gomez was struck down by his own serious knee problem barely a month later.

The subsequent struggle for game time has hampered attempts to regain sharpness. Gomez has made just 12 outings and has appeared for just 15 minutes in the Premier League.

And when potential opportunities became apparent in late November and early December, he was out injured and, for the FA Cup visit of Cardiff City last weekend, missing after a positive coronavirus test.

"It's really unlucky for Joe," said Klopp earlier this week. "He has consistently played on an incredible level and has been one of the best centre-halves in England, but then the big injury came and little injuries on top of that.

"Then he got COVID, that timing was really bad because he would definitely have played against Cardiff and that would have given him some rhythm and momentum.

"He is a young lad and everything will be fine in the future but at the moment, it's for sure harder."

Gomez, though, will be 25 in May and is approaching the point of his career where he should be playing regularly.

While there is particular frustration both of the serious injuries he has suffered as a Liverpool player have come when on international duty, that Gomez was involved in the England camp underlines his standing as one of the country's best centre-backs.

That, though, is of little consequence if the Reds defender isn't being given game time, as England head coach Gareth Southgate observed late last year.

“The rehab from that injury is a really important one to get right, he needs to be settled in with Liverpool with plenty of minutes on the pitch feeling in a good place with all of that before we start thinking of selecting him with us," said Southgate.

With a World Cup on the horizon at the end of the year, Gomez will surely be eager to regain his place in the national squad having already had to sit out the European Championships last summer.

Other clubs are watching. Rumours of January interest from Aston Villa and Real Madrid ultimately came to nothing, with Liverpool - and Gomez - not entertaining a move mid-season.

But as Turf Moor comes into view again, the defender knows the next few months could be pivotal in determining his Anfield future beyond the summer.

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