Liverpool's Joe Gomez determined to come back stronger after 'freak' injury

By Darragh Bermingham

Liverpool defender Joe Gomez says he is determined to come back stronger after suffering a tear in his cruciate ligament which has ruled him out for the rest of the season.

The 18-year-old suffered the injury while on international duty with England U21s and has yet to feature or even train under new Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.

As England cruised to victory over Kazakhstan in their U21 Euro 2017 qualifier, Gomez tangled with an attacker in an innocuous challenge and felt a searing pain in his right knee.

“I’ve watched it back loads of times and it was just a freak thing,” Gomez told the Liverpool Echo.

“As my weight went on to my right leg, it bent inwards and I felt something go. The knee just gave way.”

“My initial thought was ‘this is a bad one’. I was in agony but after about five minutes it started to ease off and I was thinking I might even be able to get back on. As it was late on and we were winning the game comfortably the physio said that wouldn’t be a good idea.

“Walking off I knew that something wasn’t right. I felt like something had given way in my knee because I had no stability.

Despite his initial thoughts, Gomez travelled home without the aid of crutches which were unnecessary at the time. Yet, the very next day when he returned to Melwood for training, he went for a scan and received the bad news.

“I was absolutely devastated,” he said.

“When I came back to Liverpool, I knew I wasn’t going to be fit for the manager’s first game at Tottenham but I was hoping I’d be back available before too long.”

“The physio Chris (Morgan) and the doctor (Andy Massey) didn’t say anything before the scan but my knee had swollen up and I think they knew straightaway.

“When they got the results, I could tell by the doctor’s face that it wasn’t good news. To be told it was my cruciate was tough to take.”

Gomez arrived from Charlton in the summer a relatively unknown quantity. He had shown promise as a youngster for Charlton but nobody could have predicted the imopact he young full back would have on Liverpool and the Premier League.

He was one of the Reds best players at the start of the season, displaying his strength and aggression while also showing himself to be a capable passer and calm in possession. This season promised so much for the youngster after his solid start and for it to be cut short by such a serious injury was a cruel blow.

However, three weeks on from surgery, young Gomez is already making strides, albeit small ones, towards recovery.

“I’m able to do quite a lot in the gym already,” he said. “I’ve started doing small squats and leg presses to get my quads back. There’s been a fair bit of muscle wastage over the past month so I can start to build that back up. I can also do boxing and stuff like that.

“I’ve not been able to use the pool so far because of the wound but I’ll be in the pool soon. It’s all about strengthening my leg, getting the swelling down and getting range back in my knee.

“I’ve also been using the time to analyse my game by looking closely at the clips. I might not be able to play at the moment but I can still learn.”

Gomez said that his recovery has been aided by teammate Danny Ings, who suffered a similar injury to that of Gomez just a day after the young defender. Ings, who had made his senior England debut just 48 hours before, was told he would be out for up to six months after damaging his ACL.

“Having Danny there for support has really helped to keep me going,” Gomez said.

“I was gutted for him when I found out he had also done his ACL. He was flying - scoring goals for Liverpool and getting his chance with England.

“We’ve been there for each other, spurring each other on. It’s been a big bonus having Danny for company. We’ve literally been side by side in everything.

“He’s a quality guy. Some days you come in and think ‘oh’ but we keep each other going. We pick each other up. It’s going to be a long road but we’re staying positive.”