A closer look at Liverpool’s right-back battle

Despite already being sidelined by injury weeks into the season, it has really been a precautionary measure he hasn’t played as he felt his hamstring tighten against Bolton. He has been working with the Sports Science team to strengthen weak areas of his body during the summer, and hopefully this will pay dividends with an extended run of first team action this campaign.

Johnson is slightly more concerning. His injury record since arriving in 2009 is not great. His list of injuries consists of:
July 18th 2009 – Calf Muscle Strain
October 17th 2009 – Ankle/Foot Injury
December 13th 2009 – MCL Knee Ligament Injury
May 1st 2010 – Groin Strain
October 20th 2010 – Hamstring Injury
April 4th 2011 – Hamstring Injury
August 7th 2011 – Thigh Injury
September 10th 2011 – Hamstring Injury

So it looks as if the belief that we will have Kelly and Johnson vying for that right back slot all season maybe a bit of wishful thinking. Hopefully Kelly can begin to improve his fitness with age, but the prospect of Glen Johnson being available for most of the season isn’t too promising. Having Kelly as first choice and Flanagan is backup isn’t too bad, but I would have liked to see a more experienced player such as Johnson ready and waiting in the wings.

Article courtesy of David Tully at Live4Liverpool

3 responses to “A closer look at Liverpool’s right-back battle”

  1. Gerrardious says:

    I dont expect to see Johnson in the team over the next 2 seasons. having 2 injury prone players in the same position is bad and often annoying. If Johnson gets a good run of games and a good offer comes in for him, I believe we should cash in on him. his defensive ability is also questionable though I have to admit that I love his confidence, calmness on the ball and flair to get the call forward. though his final ball isn’t great, he still helps keep the opponent under pressure. I believe and hope Kelly’s fitness will get beta as he matures more. Kelly also seems to be defensively beta and more agile.
    All said, I hope to see a class RB coming in to replace Johnson in the near future. there’s no point having good players who are neva around.

  2. trader says:

    Gerrardious, I completely disagree with you. On form, Johnson is the best right back in the country. In a poor side he can be exposed, as he does like to get forward and isnt the best defensively. However in a good side, which is otherwise defensively sound, he can be a superb asset and selling him shouldnt even be thought about. He does have slight injury probems but then we have both Kelly, who is absolutely superb for his age and Flannaghan, who also looks very accomplished. Right back is one position we shouldnt have to worry about for a very long time.

  3. Gerrardious says:

    so u think young Flanagan is accomplished?? hmmm