Even players on loan from Liverpool can't escape an injury crisis at the moment, as Blackburn Rovers starlet Tyler Morton was forced into a makeshift role for their League Cup win against Bradford City.
The 19-year-old midfielder has joined Blackburn on a season-long loan after an impressive pre-season at Anfield and rolled back the years on Tuesday to play centre-back, as Rovers made it through a tricky trip to Valley Parade to book their place in the third round.
Like Jurgen Klopp 's ongoing woes in midfield, Blackburn manager Jon Dahl Tomasson is currently short when it comes to centre-back options. The ex- AC Milan and Newcastle United forward only informed Morton that he'd be slotting in defence a day prior to the journey. Thankfully for both Rovers and Reds fans, the highly-rated England under-20 international thrived.
Morton helped Tomasson's side recover from going behind in the 18th minute to Bradford striker Andy Cook's opener, claiming victory through goals from Bradley Dack and Dilan Markanday before half-time. "I didn't have any choice!" the Blackburn head coach revealed when asked about moving Morton into centre-back.
"I always say good footballer players can play anywhere. I told him yesterday, and he was up for the challenge, good players can play anywhere. [Johan] Cruyff always said put the best 11 players on the pitch, and it doesn't matter where they play."
The Wallasey-born prodigy ranked first for most passes and dribbles in the match, as Morton showcased his footballing ability even in a reserved role. His accomplished performance prompted Rovers' Twitter account to alert Liverpool supporters of the display. "To the Liverpool fans asking, yes Tyler Morton really did play centre-back tonight," their tweet read. "He was boss."
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Morton certainly enjoyed the outing, too, telling BBC Radio Lancashire post-match: "I have played centre-back actually, I was speaking to my dad before the game. I played [there] ages ago when I was about six, seven. I used to be a centre-half but yeah, since then I haven't played there.
"I found it good, I enjoyed it and it was a good challenge for me. I'm willing do whatever the gaffer wants me to do or the staff want me to do. And if it means playing centre-half and getting a win, then I'm really happy and I was happy with how I played. I'd do anything for Blackburn because that's where I am and this is the club I'm playing for."
Morton's parent club, whom he made 11 appearances for in all competitions last term, will enter at the next stage. The always hotly-anticipated third-round draw will take place after Tranmere Rovers welcome Newcastle to Prenton Park on Wednesday evening.
Whoever Klopp's Liverpool are handed, the Reds boss will be hoping to have more midfielders available to him than what he has now. Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones are all sidelined, while Fabinho was shown not to be fully fit during Monday's disastrous 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.
