Liverpool have been plagued by injuries to key players for most of the season, which is one of the reasons they haven’t managed to get off to the flier everyone expected of them.

There is no real replacement in the Red ranks to fill the gap Daniel Agger’s injury has opened up, and Liverpool have done well to remain, alongside Arsenal, as one of the two teams unbeaten as yet. Jamie Carragher suffered a punctured lung and has done well to get back (excuse the pun) to help the struggling defence. Come the  January transfer window, Rafa Benitez should be looking for cover to his backline.

Our midfield has suffered as well. Xabi Alonso’s metatarsal Injury (similar to that of Agger’s) has also kept us back in terms of the fluent passing game fans so desperately want to see. In his autobiography, Steven Gerrard heaped special praise on the Spanish pass master, and his absence is rather transparent, with Javier Mascherano not able to ping through balls in the way only the Spaniard can.

'With the imminent return to full fitness of most of the injured players, it's going to be a more enjoyable few months for the Reds'


Mohamed Sissoko has also not enjoyed any real good form this season, and should be happy that Didi 'The Kaiser' Hamann has backed him to come back strong when he gets his chance. Let's hope he does return to his best , as we saw in his first tenure in the Premier League.

Gerrard has returned to his formidable best; he has come out of that bad spell and has really been making an impact on matches since then. Three goals in three games - keep it up, Captain Fantastic!

Harry Kewell has been sidelined for long periods so our left flank has been going though a dry period. He has since managed a few cameo appearances and played a full 90 minutes for the Socceroos at the weekend, which will lift also the team.

Jermaine Pennant has also sustained an injury so it's been a rough few months for Rafa’s plans in terms of width on either side. Pennant’s replacement on the right flank, Yossi Benayoun, has also suffered an adductor injury, so General Benitez is certainly fighting a war filled with battered and broken troops. And it just doesn’t end there …

In attack, super signing Fernando Torres's adductor injury has also been a huge contributor to our lack of goals. His all-important strike against Fulham further emphasises his importance and let's hope 'El Nino' keeps storming forward and bagging the goals for Benitez and the fans, validating his price tag and keeping Liverpool close to the Mancs and Arses.

Hey, what about the other three strikers? Dirk Kuyt suffers from goalmouth blindness, so I guess that counts as an injury! Injury is one thing a coach can never foresee and Rafa has done really well to keep his side unbeaten regardless of the injury 'crisis' that has plagued the team, always remaining positive through whatever has come his way.

Now, with the imminent return to full fitness of most of the players mentioned above, it's going to be a more enjoyable few months for the Reds. And let's hope those Liverpool players on international duty like Gerrard, Peter Crouch, Mascherano, Ryan Babel, Kuyt, Sami Hyypia, Kewell, oh and John Arne Riise as well (?) will all be fit for the match-up against Newcastle and indeed Porto in the coming seven days.

More injury-times goal, but hopefully, no more injuries.