'Replace the player' - Liverpool legend sends message…

'Replace the player' - Liverpool legend sends message over Thiago Alcantara and midfield options

Liverpool legend John Barnes believes his old side will be able to cope without Thiago Alcantara following his injury against Fulham.

The Reds star limped off five minutes into the second half as his side kicked off their 2022/2023 Premier League campaign with a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage. He was sent for a scan on Sunday which revealed the extent of the hamstring strain will keep him out of action for at least the whole of August, while reports last night suggested it could be six weeks.

Jurgen Klopp’s injury-list is already piling up, with his Spanish international joining the likes of Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the treatment table, while Naby Keita looks set to return to full training following a short illness.

“Well, I think that we just replace the player (Thiago Alcantara). Whether it’s going to be James Milner or who it’s gonna be,” Barnes told BonusCodeBets when asked about the injury.

“Thiago is a fantastic player, he’s good on the ball. But I think if you look at what Liverpool have done when they had to replace anybody. We’ll miss him, but I think we can cope without him.”

Darwin Nunez came off the bench to score one and create another as Liverpool were forced to twice battle back to salvage a point in a chaotic game at newly promoted Fulham at the weekend.

Aleksandar Mitrovic had twice put Marco Silva’s side ahead before goals from Nunez and Mohamed Salah ensured Liverpool picked up a point on the opening day. And Barnes has praised his old club for twice showing resilience in coming from behind.

He said: “It’s just one game gone. And of course, the teams who’ve come up (from the Championship), always start quite well because they are full of confidence from getting promoted.

“They haven’t been beaten many times. The teams who’ve come up are competitive in the first three or four games. For them, maybe after ten games and having lost seven or eight, they lose confidence, and then they become easier games.

“But the first game is always going to be difficult to get through the newly promoted sides. We would like to have won, but it’s not the end of the world.”

Barnes then added: " Liverpool showed resilience coming back from 1:0 down and 2:1 down, and they were the better team, but, of course, they drew two-all.”

“I think it goes to show the expectations for Liverpool; A two-all draw away from home is a disappointment."

"But if you just keep your feet on the ground and realise that it’s just the first game and there’s a long season to go, there’s gonna be lots of ups and downs.”

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