Long term absentee Sebastian Coates and Brazilian playmaker Coutinho aside, the boss expects fullbacks Glen Johnson and Aly Cissokho, as well as midfielder Joe Allen, to be back in contention before the Reds travel to St. James Park on October 19th. Liverpool, who sit second in the Premier League table going into this weekend’s match, have had to make a number of tactical and formation changes to fill in for injured players, but despite their winning ways, Rodgers will be looking forward to having a number of key names back in his squad.
In his pre-match press conference, the boss took some time to update us on some of the missing men, and so far, it’s been all good news. “Aly Cissokho has trained over the course of the last week or so, so I think after the international break he’ll be fine and fit. Joe Allen likewise – he should be ready for the Newcastle game” said Rodgers. Both Allen and Cissokho have been out since pulling up injured in the Reds victory over Notts County in last month’s Capital One Cup clash.
Glen Johnson, who injured himself during Liverpool’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United at the beginning of September, is also expected back – though he’ll likely to miss out on Englands crunch World Cup qualifiers. “Glen’s out on the field and hopefully after the international break he’ll be ready to come back into the squad” said the boss. Although Jordan Henderson has done an admiral job slotting in at right-wing back in Liverpool’s new look formation, it will be nice to have a pair of natural fullbacks – including England’s best – back in the team.
