Jordan Henderson Could Miss Arsenal Clash
After playing through the pain barrier in their 5-1 win over Arsenal and featuring with a cast against Fulham midweek, Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson could miss the trip to the Emirates Stadium in the FA Cup on Sunday after having surgery to repair damage to his broken wrist.
The midfielder, who initially broke it after going up and over some advertising hoardings against Arsenal last weekend, played the full 90-minutes in the Reds rout of the Gunners with a minimum of fuss. A special cast adorned his wrist when Steven Gerrard struck a last gasp penalty to seal the points at Fulham, but the 23-year old might have to watch from the sidelines on Sunday after undergoing corrective surgery on Friday.
Although Reds boss Brendan Rodgers made no mention of it in his pre-match press conference, insisting that the Anfield outfit don’t need to make any changes to the their starting eleven, it could be prudent to give Henderson a rest lest he aggravate the problem. The former Sunderland spoke with pride when asked about the Merseysider’s potential to secure their first title of the Premier League era early in the week and Rodgers may keep their European ambitions in mind and hand the England man some extra rest ahead of next weekends meeting with his former side Swansea City.
It’s believed that another cast has been prepared for Henderson should be get the nod for the Arsenal encounter, but this will be a late decision on the part of the Reds medical team. The midfielder was given a shot of pain-killers before the meeting with Fulham and, should Rodgers deem the 23-year old vital to the Liverpool cause, another round could be in order on Sunday.
Be sure to pop in pre-match to see if Henderson makes the starting eleven; we’ll have the confirmed line-ups as soon as they’re announced.
Arsenal would rather him play