Confirmed – Key Liverpool player ruled out of West Ham trip to Anfield
Liverpool will be without captain Jordan Henderson when they face West Ham on Monday evening.
The league leaders have confirmed that the 29-year-old will be out for about three weeks with a hamstring complaint, ruling him out of tonight’s clash at Anfield.
The Hammers go into that match knowing that they must take at least a point from Jurgen Klopp’s men to move out of the bottom three.
And they will feel that their chances of doing that will have improved marginally by the news of Henderson’s absence.
The England international picked up the complaint during the closing stages of his side’s Champions League defeat against Athletic Madrid in midweek, and is now set to miss several matches for the Reds.
How much of an impact will Henderson’s impact make?
Look, if we’re being realistic here, the chances are that it won’t make a difference.
Going to Anfield and getting something – regardless of if the Reds have their skipper on the field or not – is going to be one hell of a battle, and at this present moment in time, you wouldn’t bet on the Hammers winning it.
That being said, it will improve West Ham’s chances, even if it is just by a tiny margin.
Henderson is a fantastic worker, and much like a Mark Noble or a Declan Rice, sometimes goes under the radar because he doesn’t do the glamorous work that some of his teammates do.
Still, this term he has averaged 2.2 tackles and a pass completion rate of 84.5% in the Premier League, as per Whoscored.
Fingers crossed that he is even more influential than we actually realise.
In other West Ham news, Charlie Nicholas predicts Hammers clash v ‘agitated’ Liverpool.