The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Injury setback for Reds and England
Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxladechamberlain expressed his devastation at having his season ended by a knee ligament injury which will also rule him out of the World Cup.
The England international was carried off in the first half of the 5-2 Champions League semi-final first-leg victory over Roma on Tuesday night.
He underwent a scan yesterday which revealed ligament damage and it is understood the 24-year-old called national team manager Gareth Southgate to speak to him personally about the injury and its implications.
Oxlade-chamberlain wrote in a Twitter post: “Absolutely devastated to have picked up that injury at such a crucial time in the season.
“Gutted I won’t be able to play any further part now in our Champions League run for Liverpool, and also the World Cup with England.
“But now it’s all about supporting the boys and getting behind them. I know we have what it takes to do something special in this tournament.”
The club are not putting a time-frame on how long he is likely to be out for.
The injury put a dampener on a thrilling Champions League win at Anfield with manager Jurgen Klopp saying after the match: “The biggest blow for the mood is the injury of Chamberlain because we lost a fantastic player.”
Klopp’s focus now turns to this weekend’s “massive game” against Stoke.
The Kiev finale is tantalisingly close but Klopp only cares about the threat posed this weekend by relegation threatened Stoke as Liverpool’ s Premier League continues to wind down.
“We will fight with all we have for that result again,” the German said of the second leg in Rome.
“It’s much better than I could have expected before the game, but now in the moment of course I feel the two goals we conceded still.
“But I am already, to be 100% honest, in the Stoke game.
“I am much more interested about the Stoke game in the moment than the second leg against Rome.”