It’s been a long road to this point for Kaide Gordon, but the sight of him back in the Liverpool gym this week was very welcome.
Gordon’s injury nightmare dates back almost 18 months and he has not featured in a team at any level since a 3-0 defeat to Reds Under-21s by Leeds United in Premier League 2 on 7 February 2022.
A pelvic problem related to his physical growth has been the root cause of the long-term problems Liverpool have carefully managed for most of the last year and a half. After so long on the sidelines, there will be few expectations or demands placed on his young shoulders, but his imminent return will be celebrated by those who have watched sympathetically during this absence.
Gordon ran back into the club’s AXA Training Center in May and while no timetable has yet been set for his return to a matchday squad, it was encouraging to see him snapping up alongside some of his more senior colleagues this week when he was set in. through his steps in the gym at the Kirkby base. He is at least ready to return to full training this month.
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It is unclear when Gordon will be cleared to make the long-awaited competitive comeback, something he – as an 18-year-old with senior experience – must be keen to make, but when it does, it will be a testament to his mental strength and the club’s staff who had worked tirelessly to ensure that the former Derby County youngster can get out of trouble.
“The thing that’s difficult with certain types of injuries, especially with younger lads growing, they’re complicated,” Under-21 boss Barry Lewtas told the ECHO last month. “It is not the case that when you break a bone, the bone heals and you keep breaking.
“Some of these injuries are more complex and unfortunately it has been for Kaide. It’s been linked to his growth and Kaide is taller and bigger now than when he last played.
“We always knew never to put a time frame on it because we knew it could be a long time and we didn’t want to get his hopes up too high and we also wanted to keep him in the right frame of mind.
“That is without raising expectations for others as well, as he is a player who has already made his mark in the first team. He has run around the pitch a bit more and we will see how it goes.”
At the club the size of Liverpool, which has a manager not shy about blooding young talent into the first team when the opportunity arises, the carrot dangled in front of Gordon to help his recovery is significant and his experience in the senior set-up must surely be an added incentive the closer he gets back to full fitness.
A Carabao Cup win at Norwich City in September 2021 was the setting for Gordon’s Liverpool debut, which came around nine months after his £1.5m move. from Derby. Manchester United had also made attempts to sign him. The Reds later paid the cash-strapped Rams around £500,000 to have a 20% sell-on clause removed from the original deal.
But while his first run at Carrow Road hinted at his talents as a fleet-footed winger, it was January 2022 when Gordon really made people sit up and take notice by producing a composed finish against Shrewsbury Town to equalise. the position at Anfield in FA Cup tie.
It was an effort that made the winger the youngest ever player to score a goal for Liverpool in the FA Cup at the age of 17 years and 96 days, and the Reds won the game 4-1.
“It’s Kaide,” Jurgen Klopp said after the game. “In conclusion, it’s really unique,” he said. “He’s really calm more often than not. When you find him in the box, he’s got a nose for it (a kind of finish). I know he’s the second-youngest goalscorer. for Liverpool, which is absolutely exceptional. But there’s still a lot to improve. He has time and we will give him time if he works as hard as he is so far.”
Further minutes in the domestic cup competitions came the following month when he got a start against Arsenal in the second leg of a Carabao Cup semi-final at the Emirates. With Mohamed Salah still out for the Africa Cup of Nations, the decision to start the teenager instead of the infamous Egyptian was a huge leap of faith from Klopp.
Gordon perhaps should have scored on the night when he blazed a great chance over the bar, but he did not let the team down as they secured a 2-0 win to book their place at Wembley. When the domestic double in 2022 is reflected on in the coming years, his contribution should not be overlooked.
A first Premier League bow came shortly before the win in north London when he replaced Diogo Jota in the final eight minutes of a 3-0 win over Brentford at Anfield. “[A] Dream come true to make my Premier League debut for Liverpool today and happy we took the three points,” he wrote on social media after the game. It certainly won’t be the last of its kind.
“He is what you see a lot with these wingers, but he has a goal in him and he has this natural ability to be in the box between the posts to score, even when a cross comes from the opposite side,” says assistant manager Pep Lijnders. Not many talents have that. They may have dribbling skills, but they don’t have the desire to shoot, to get into the box, to score.
“He’s a typical Liverpool Football Club winger in my opinion because he’s got goals and he’s got pace. We really like him and really like him with us.”
That game at Arsenal marked Gordon’s last senior appearance to date, but as he nears a return to full fitness later this month, he can begin to get his exciting but fledgling career back on track.