Of all the signs that Liverpool have taken a more long-term view in recent months, the decision to speed up Thiago Alcantara’s operation was one of the most telling.
A hip injury picked up towards the start of the year left Thiago on the sidelines for two months between early February and April, missing 10 games in total before returning as a second-half substitute in the 2- 2 draw against Arsenal on Easter Sunday.
In reality, however, Thiago’s campaign was virtually curtailed after his last start, which came in a 3-0 defeat to Wolves on 4 February. His return consisted of four substitute appearances lasting a total of 96 minutes before the decision was made. surgery to correct what had become a long-standing complaint.
The decision to go under the knife was taken with a view to getting the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona stat fit in time for pre-season rather than delaying the minor operation so Thiago could continue to contribute for the rest of a campaign that had fallen by the wayside.
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“Thiago needs surgery and is out for the rest of the season,” Jurgen Klopp said on the eve of Brentford’s visit to Anfield in early May. “It’s the same problem that he was out for a couple of months recently. Do I expect him now to be ready for pre-season? Yes, that’s why we’re doing it now.”
Thiago was seen on crutches for the end-of-season lap of honor at Anfield following the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on May 20, and while the decision to have the operation meant he was forced to miss the last four games in a campaign. who still had slim hopes of a top-4 finish at the time, it was a strategic call very much focused on getting him fit and firing in time for the new term.
With midfield targeted as the designated area for Liverpool’s summer transfer plans, the Reds will go into the new campaign against Chelsea on August 13 with something of a new engine bay. Having signed Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton earlier this month, further reinforcements are expected after the official opening of the transfer window on Wednesday.
But while the likes of Nice’s Khephren Thuram, Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch and Celta Vigo youngster Gabri Veiga are all being looked at, a fully functioning Thiago would represent a huge boost for Klopp going forward.
His 18 appearances last term were the fewest he has made since swapping Bayern for Liverpool in September 2020 and there is a line of thinking that suggests his injury problems have occasionally been exacerbated by an over-reliance on him in the middle in the park.
With More set to join Mac Allister through the doors of the AXA Training Center in the coming weeks, Thiago could find himself out of the squad by design more than unfortunate injuries as he heads into the final 12 months of his contract.
At his enchanting best, there are few like Thiago in the Premier League, but his injury problems have rarely subsided during his time with the Reds. Last season he featured in just 28 of the club’s 52 games as he finished a campaign that started with a muscle injury at Fulham on the opening day recovering from surgery.
Next season, aided by the strengthening of the midfield ranks, Thiago can be deliberately held back and managed more carefully, giving Klopp an incredibly experienced option for certain games at critical moments.
It’s no surprise that one of the most flourishing periods for Klopp’s side in recent years was in the second half of the 2021/22 campaign, when Thiago was fully fit and available to his manager on a consistent basis.
As Liverpool lost just two of 34 games between the start of January and the end of May – during a run in which they picked up 92 Premier League points while winning a domestic cup double and marching to the Champions League final – Thiago boasted the most influential period of his Anfield tenure to date, appearing 26 times and starring against the likes of Manchester United, Everton, Villarreal and, perhaps most notably, Manchester City in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
The fact that Thiago was forced to take some pain-killing injections in his toes just to be part of the Champions League final for Real Madrid at the end of the 63-match marathon was a frustrating aspect for Liverpool in Paris. Could that result have been different if the midfielder had been 100%?
As the Spain international enters the final year of his term at Anfield, there is no appetite to offload him in this window. Thiago is significantly more valuable to Klopp for what he can contribute to the upcoming campaign than he would be if it was decided that the club should cash in on a 32-year-old in the final year of his contract.
He looks set to join a long list of high-profile players who have walked away from Anfield at the end of their contracts. But while Gini Wijnaldum, for example, played 50 games in the final year of his time with the Reds, Thiago will be a more valuable commodity when used more judiciously. Less may indeed be more and this could still be his most important period yet under Klopp, which is why the proactive call for surgery was made. It can turn out to be a masterpiece.
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