Wijnaldum: Liverpool have 'little time for training' and are mainly 'resting'

Published on: 03 December 2020

Georginio Wijnaldum admits Liverpool players are just trying to avoid getting injured when away from match days, with rest taking priority over full scale training.

The Reds have suffered an injury crisis at the start of the season which has seen match days packed into a tight calendar following the month late restart in September as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

With many teams, especially those in European competition like Liverpool, playing twice a week in an attempt to catch up to a traditional schedule, injuries have proven a problem.

Wijnaldum has so far avoided any issues but admits the hectic schedule means he is lucky not to have picked up any injuries.

'I don't really have anything to complain about. I am blessed to stay fit during this period,' he told reporters following Tuesday's 1-0 win over Ajax.

'I hope I can hold on until the end of the season. That's going to be very difficult, but I'm confident.

'It's really just playing matches and resting at the moment. There's not really any training because there's not a lot of time for that.'

Jurgen Klopp's side have already lost first choice centre-back pairing Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez for what looks likely to be the majority of the season and have picked up knocks in other key areas.

Key first team stars including Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip, Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson and James Milner have all endured spells on the sidelines since and it has left Klopp furious.

The Reds boss has been heavily critical of TV schedules seeing his side play at 12.30pm on a Saturday right after a Wednesday Champions League game, and has also hit out at the failure to adopt five substitutions for this season.

Liverpool, who are now through to the Champions League last-16 following their win on Tuesday now have five days to prepare for their next encounter when they face Wolves on Sunday.

Wijnaldum stated that despite the tinkering needed to the Liverpool line-up, the team's win at Anfield showed that throughout the squad they remain professional in their approach.

He added: 'We knew that Ajax has a very good football-playing team and it would be tough.

'A match against Ajax is not an easy one. It makes it extra nice that we were able to win the match.

'I think Ajax has played two very good matches, but of course you can see that we are very grown up. I think that's why we won the matches.

'In the Premier League you play such matches more often, then you have to be very mature to win them, even if you don't play well. We did that twice against Ajax.

'I must say we created more chances than in Amsterdam. I think Ajax has done very well in two matches.'

Source: m.allfootballapp.com

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