ECHO's end-of-season ratings continue with Luis Diaz .'s injury campaign review
Liverpool's Luis Diaz's reaction
The first half focused on an electric winger who has performed at his best in the first two months of the Premier League campaign. As Jurgen Klopp's men struggle to banish the ghosts of the previous 63 games from behind, Diaz is one of the few who has not faltered.
A superb solo effort at home to Crystal Palace in August saved Liverpool's 10-man squad from an early defeat at Anfield before scoring twice in a 0-9 defeat to Bournemouth later that month. A superb strike was nothing short of a consolation in the 1-4 loss to Napoli in early September when he scored five goals in the first month of the season. However, a knee injury during a challenger against Thomas Partey in a 23 loss to Arsenal on 10 October nearly ruined his season. After giving up days off for rehabilitation at the club's AXA academy, Diaz looks set to return after Christmas after reporting on duty during the club's mid-season tour to Dubai.
However, he broke down during his first training session in the Middle East and was immediately flown home to undergo surgery in Merseyside, which kept him out of action for another three months.
"He's not in the best possible shape [mentally], that's clear," Klopp told ECHO in Dubai after the 1-3 loss to Lyon. It was a huge disappointment for all of us and for him as well. It's a situation with nothing in training, to be honest.
"And he felt something, he didn't feel much the next day but we wanted to be very careful. So we said:
'Come on, let's see' and then the news came, it was a slap in the face, but that's it for now."
In total, Diaz missed more than six months of playing, eventually returning to the team in mid-April as a late substitute in Leeds' 6-1 win over Elland Road. This was followed by two more cameos in wins over Nottingham Forest and West Ham before helping him land his first game in 203 days against Tottenham later that month.
Diaz took just five minutes to reopen his account for the season, smartly finishing to make it 2-0 in a wild game that eventually ended 4-3 against the Reds . The other three games start against Fulham, Leicester and Aston Villa, but there has long been general acceptance that the Colombia international won't be at his best again until next season after a hectic schedule. special pre-season.
This is still a big "what if" case when it comes to Diaz's season. Liverpool have been deprived of their powerful offensive weapons for too long and must regret the absence of Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino in a particularly difficult January.
Had the former Porto winger been fit for his entire tenure, hopes of finishing in the top four might not have been dashed the way they did, but the onus now is on him to get his form back. this failure at Emirates. October. A completely healthy Diaz will be essential to next season's success.
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