Johnson out - Now what?

Liverpool have today confirmed Glen Johnson suffered a medial ligament injury to his right knee during Tuesday night's 1-0 victory at Aston Villa.

The Reds' defender was assessed by the club's medical team at Melwood earlier today and underwent a scan which revealed the extent of the injury which forced him to limp off after 88 minutes at Villa Park.

A club spokesman said: "A scan today has revealed a tear in the medial ligament in Glen's right knee. The player will see a specialist tomorrow, after which we should be able to more accurately determine the length of his rehabilitation period."

LFC TV

Bollocks.

Balls.

Big big loss we have seen what a diaster Skertel and Carragher have been there maybe it is time for Martin Kelly to seize the opportunity.

If it is in fact a tear, even a partial tear, he won't play for at least three months but probably more like a minimum of six months.  If he has to have surgery, he'll be out a full year. This blows.

Bollocks.

Just googled this -

Lets hope its a grade 1.

What are the symptoms of a medial collateral ligament injury?
The most common symptom following a medial collateral ligament injury is pain directly over the ligament. Swelling over the torn ligament may appear, and bruising and generalized joint swelling are common 1 to 2 days after the injury. In more severe injuries, patients may complain that the knee is unstable, or feel as though their knee may 'give out' or buckle.

Symptoms of a medial collateral ligament injury tend to correlate with the extent of the injury. MCL injuries are graded on a scale of I to III.

•Grade I MCL Tear
This is an incomplete tear of the MCL. The tendon is still in continuity, and the symptoms are usually minimal. Patients usually complain of pain with pressure on the MCL, and may be able to return to their sport very quickly. Most athletes miss 1-2 weeks of play.

•Grade II MCL Tear
Grade II injuries are also considered incomplete tears of the MCL. These patients may complain of instability when attempting to cut or pivot. The pain and swelling is more significant, and usually a period of 3-4 weeks of rest is necessary.

•Grade III MCL Tear
A grade III injury is a complete tear of the MCL. Patients have significant pain and swelling, and often have difficulty bending the knee. Instability, or giving out, is a common finding with grade III MCL tears. A knee brace or a knee immobilizer is usually needed for comfort, and healing may take 6 weeks or longer.

Hows yer f***in luck....

Just when it seems we can start getting optimistic, this happens.  That could be a season ending injury....surely the yanks will have to provide money to get cover in the January window.

Get well soon Glen.

F***ing sh*t!!!
Do not need this.

That's some F***ing sh*t luck! When will these injuries end? 

For F**k's sake.

Hope he's not out for too long.

yet another inury :|
to one of our better performers this season too. our luck is non existant
hopefully martin kelly can step up to the plate and play like he did against Lyon. A performance i was pretty impressed with

Has Martin even recovered yet? Not sure if he has.

It might make him learn how to pass a ball he got injured trying to get back after giving the ball away AGAIN.

It might make him learn how to pass a ball he got injured trying to get back after giving the ball away AGAIN.

Give the lad a brake. Comments like that will make players never become industrious and creative. Wish him well than to dig into him saying he deserves it because he likes to prove himself.

It might make him learn how to pass a ball he got injured trying to get back after giving the ball away AGAIN.

F**k off.

Has Martin even recovered yet? Not sure if he has.

Pretty sure he was on the bench recently?

Not too sure how fit he is though to be honest

F**k it Johnson has no problem passing it is Kuyt seems to hide behind the full back and make the pass impossible don't see him giving it away from England.

If we had a top class right midfielder I guarantee with Johnson we would be unstoppable down the right side rather than Kuyt just plodding along.

Ive never seen a liverpool team give the ball away so much thats what i am getting at , the last thing i want is anyone getting injured it just frustrates me when we give the ball away time and time again , its just my opinion i can have one cant i .

Ive never seen a liverpool team give the ball away so much thats what I am getting at , the last thing I want is anyone getting injured it just frustrates me when we give the ball away time and time again , its just my opinion I can have one cant I .

You can say it with some respect for our Glen Johnson!

I have got a lot of respect for GJ  , but that careless pass Could easily have led to Villa taking the three points and not us .

Is there any decent youngster who could take advantage of Glen's injury and light up for as long as he is out?

Is there any decent youngster who could take advantage of Glen's injury and light up for as long as he is out?

Martin Kelly if hes fit

Bugger.

Is there any decent youngster who could take advantage of Glen's injury and light up for as long as he is out?

Kelly, Darby not a youngster but Degen will probably get an opportunity now too.

Don't think Darby is ready at the moment to be honest, its got to be Kelly but I agree with Dmasta I expect to see more of Degen.

3 months out then? Back in April.

That's us buggered.  If they decide to put Carra there then I am going to pour petrol on my shed and go in there for one last smoke.

3 months out then? Back in April.

That's us buggered.  If they decide to put Carra there then I am going to pour petrol on my shed and go in there for one last smoke.

3 months.

Who said 3 months?

3 months out then? Back in April.

That's us buggered.  If they decide to put Carra there then I am going to pour petrol on my shed and go in there for one last smoke.

Confirmed 3 months? Someone posted above it could be as short as a couple weeks.

If it is that long - sell Degen?

Bring someone new in?

Or go with Kelly and Darby?

Well there goes our £500,000 transfer budget on a new right back!

Is this not what Skrtel done last season? He was out for quite a while

Can't they just get that Placenta doctor to work her magic like with Yossi and Riera?

Assume it will now be Carra at right back, Agger and Skrtel in the centre. Hopefully Kelly will be back from injury soon though, would like to see him get his chance if Johnson is out for a while.

Bollocks.

Balls.

Nutsacks.

Just dont wanna see Carra there.. getting nightmares of Aaron Lennon taking him on..

Martin Kellys the man for the job with Degen back up.

Has to be Martin Kelly for me if he's fit. Looked steady against Lyon and it's refreshing that Rafa was willing to give him a game. Maybe a game against Reading would be just the right preperation for him to step up a level and play against Spurs. Need a good full back for that one, another must win.

I would deffo go for Kelly, hopefully back this or next week from his injury.

Knew it was bad as soon as i saw it. No way should Carra return to that position.
I guess Degen will have to step in now. Although is Kelly near to fitness?
Slightly off-topic  but hope this doesn't mean the poor guy misses out on South Africa

Get well soon Glen. Get Kelly and Darby in there

That's us buggered.  If they decide to put Carra there then I am going to pour petrol on my shed and go in there for one last smoke.

F***ing sh*te news but jesus that made me laugh.

F***ing c**t bollocks sh*t b***ard lady-gaga tampon string sh*t dick F***ing hell.

We did not need this.

so early, can't you wait until tomorrow! Let's hope it's not serious...

Christ... Kelly stepping in?

It's a blow but we do have cover there

Kelly and Degen should be enough

Placenta for Johnson please!   We have Kelly to tie us over, don't worry.

Now lets hit the panic button cos our right back is out! Over reacting on this forum is unreal

F***ing hell lads, wait until he's see the specialist tomorrow to pass judgement on this.

I'm hearing 6 months, 3 months and then two weeks!

depends who were playing against. I'd like to see skrtyl back in the squad. Agger and carragher are both better than him, but he played awesome last season so I just wanna see him get his confidence back. If its a relatively slow team put carra RB and skrtyl in, otherwise bring in Kelly. In an ideal world I'd put kuyt RB and bring in pachecho, since all kuyt needs to do is run up and down, which he does anyway. That'll never happen though.

im hearing ya

Now lets hit the panic button cos our right back is out! Over reacting on this forum is unreal

To be fair he is one of our better attacking threats. I've watched games with and without Johnson in the team and the difference in our attacking ability is there for all to see.

To be fair he is one of our better attacking threats. I've watched games with and without Johnson in the team and the difference in our attacking ability is there for all to see.

I have huge respect for what hes offered at times this season. But when hes off his game hes a danger to us theres no in between, so to see people only short of pulling there hair out at the fact he might be out for a few games is annoying considering the same people are crying to see Kelly and Darby play. Ye cant have your cake and eat it. If hes out hes out if were good enough we will survive without a full back

Martin Kelly.

He was absolutely superb in pres-season and against Lyon he was even better.

Get well soon, Glen

Degen, Darby and Kelly can all do a decent job at RB whilst keeping up our attacking momentum.

Think alot is being made out of nothing here.

lady-gaga tampon string

You gotta thank me for that

Seriously though, I heard it was 3-8 weeks. Doubt it can be as long as 3 months because he was still managing to walk unaided after he got injured.



Anyway,

Johnson suffered medial ligament damage

Liverpool defender Glen Johnson suffered a medial ligament injury to his right knee during Tuesday night's 1-0 victory at Aston Villa, but it has not yet been confirmed how long he will be out for.

The Reds' defender was assessed by the club's medical team at the Melwood training ground on Wednesday and underwent a scan which revealed the extent of the injury which forced him to limp off after 88 minutes at Villa Park.

"A scan today has revealed a tear in the medial ligament in Glen's right knee," a club spokesman said. The player will see a specialist tomorrow, after which we should be able to more accurately determine the length of his rehabilitation period."

Depending on the severity of the injury, Johnson could find himself out of action for between 3-8 weeks.

Johnson - signed from Portsmouth in the summer for £17 million - has been one of Liverpool's most consistent performers in what has been a disappointing season for the Anfield club.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=719143&sec=england&cc=4716

Whatever the solution is, it better involve Pacheco moving onto the bench permanantly.

When is Kelly getting fit?How cruel this year has been for us with injuries,both our first-choice and a youngster who could take his place in the team are injured at the same time just when we were hitting some form.I really dont wanna see Carra at RB however knowing Rafa expect to see him out there against Spurs.

Nutsacks.

testes satchels

Seriously though, I heard it was 3-8 weeks. Doubt it can be as long as 3 months because he was still managing to walk unaided after he got injured.

The fact that he was able to walk unaided is a very good sign.  The two most serious injuries I've had in my life were a broken back (L4) and a partially torn MCL.  The MCL tear took at least double the recovery time.  However, I had to be carted off the field and walked with crutches for two months before beginning rehab and physical therapy.

MCL injuries are very serious.  Most people (myself included) have a hard time trusting the strength in their knee for sometime after the injury. 
I wish him the best, and a speedy recovery.  If he does in fact have a tear I'd be shocked if played any football for three months.  Hopefully, I'm wrong.

Is this not what Skrtel done last season? He was out for quite a while

Can't they just get that Placenta doctor to work her magic like with Yossi and Riera?

Assume it will now be Carra at right back, Agger and Skrtel in the centre. Hopefully Kelly will be back from injury soon though, would like to see him get his chance if Johnson is out for a while.

It seems it's a bad tear and the outlook is bleak - we are talking months here.

testes satchels

Bollocks indeed.

this is terrible news. More injury problems. ffs.

Only brightside the 2 young guys and degen will get more chances now.

Carra will probably play against spurs, Degen or Darby against reading.

Is Kelly fit yet?

Big big loss we have seen what a diaster Skertel and Carragher have been there maybe it is time for Martin Kelly to seize the opportunity.

Degen can hold tha position.

Walking is a good sign...

I torn my cruciate ligament in a footy game, and couldn't walk at all... infact its the most painful thing I've ever experienced, 2 operations down the line and I still can't play footy at the same level, then again I don't have physio's like Liverpool sorting it.

But he's walkin so thats great, 3 weeks hopefully

Kelly is more then enough at RB to cover. He played immensely against Lyon, and I thought was a better RB then Johnson when he played.

Maybe this could be the thing we needed, if Kelly has a brilliant run in the position, then maybe when Johnson comes back Rafa will finally realise that he would be a bigger threat as a RM/RW.

F**k. Big loss. But the likes of Kelly, Degen and in the most deperate situation, even Carra can provide the back-up.

It will, however, be a loss more in the attacking department rather than the defensive.

This just sums up our season, I hope martin kelly is fit to play and i'm hoping to see more of Pacheco my team for the Reading game is....

                            Reina
  Kelly/Degen     Carra        Agger        Insua
 
   Kuyt        Gerrard        Aquilani      Benny

                           Pacheco

                            Torres/Ngog

 Got to win regardless of how we play, Keep the momentum and gain more confidence for the spurs game.
  Get well soon Glen.

 Happy new year everyone.

I'd proberly choose Degen as he has more experience then Kelly and Darby but I would really like to see Kelly get his chance.

The Times was reporting at least a month out.

Rafa reveals Johnson latest

Rafa Benitez today revealed how Glen Johnson will be out of action for at least a month.

The right-back sustained a tear in the medial ligament of his right knee during our 1-0 victory over Aston Villa.

Johnson will see another specialist before a timescale is put on his recovery.

But Benitez told Liverpoolfc.tv: "Johnson has a problem, so he'll see a specialist and then we'll talk but we know he'll be out for at least one month. But we are waiting for another opinion and then we'll know how long."

Meanwhile, Benitez is hopeful of having Albert Riera back within a week following a hamstring problem - though Martin Kelly and Nabil El Zhar may yet be out for another fortnight.

"Kelly and Nabil still need maybe one or two weeks," said Benitez. "Riera will start training tomorrow, so hopefully in the next week he can be available."

Link

Could have been a lot worse, got to be thankful for small mercies an all that. 

Kelly still out for at least 2 weeks? WTF did that post do to him.

Kelly still out for at least 2 weeks? WTF did that post do to him.

i've been thinking the same thing for ages.

could be a blessing in disguise who is to know might be able to prove kelly can hold his own. instead of blowing 10mill which we dont have.

Johnson out for atleast a month, Kelly out for probably a fortnight. I hope Degen doesn't live up to his reputation injury wise because whenever I see Carra named at right-back I wanna cry.

Nah this is bad like. The obvious thing that will be done now is put Carra right back with either Skrtel or Kyriakos at the back alongside Agger, and we know what like Skrtel and Kyriakos are trying to defend in the air. Either that or put Martin Kelly in at right back when he's fit again.

Just put Degen on the right until Kelly is fit. Should be ok.

The plan:

               Reina
Kuyt  - Carra - Agger - Aurelio
          Lucas - Aquilani
 Gerrard - Pacheco - Yossi
              Torres

Sorted.

Might try Kuyt at rightback honestly because he's been sh*te going forward all season. While he's always hardworking and his defence has been pretty solid. Might do pretty well I have no doubt about that.

When I see Carra at centre back I don't know if our defence is going to get ripped apart severely, no thanks for that honestly.

i think rafa might get someone in here. there's a guy playing with portsmouth that's not getting paid!! used to play with us and could do a reliable job.

Knowing the gravity of a Ligament injury, if he is out just for a month then he is actually lucky.
I just hope he recovers well and that we get to see a bit of Kelly.

Rafa instead of getting another reject play the youngsters or move Carra and play Agger and Skrtel in the centre.

Where's this three months out talk come from? He'll be back in Feb apparently? Was on the back of the Echo today anyway. No permanent damage.

To be honest, I think he's looked a little bit ropey in the last couple of games, defensively. I don't mean poor. Just a bit unstable or indecisive in defence.

Should be back in around a month, let's not be silly and imagine we need a replacement, we have 3 back up RBs so save the money for more important areas of the pitch.

I think we can expect Martin Kelly back some time soon can't we. He looked exellent to me. Not phased by the step up at all.

GJ is going to see another specialist on Mon to determine how long he will be out for but it looks a min of 1 month.With Kelly a few weeks away from training and then getting fit it looks like Degen and Carra are the only options. Cant see us spending money on a short term replacement, we dont have much cash anyway so what would a couple of mil buy nowadays. Better sticking with what we have IMO.

Still b*llocks though

I was hoping our injury curse had been lifted. Hopefully this is the last of them.

Get well soon Glen, hopefully you make a speedy recovery.

Not sure how far away Martin Kelly is but to be honest, going on the last couple of games I'd have him in ahead of Glen if both fit anyway.

Bollocks.

Just googled this -

Lets hope its a grade 1.

What are the symptoms of a medial collateral ligament injury?
The most common symptom following a medial collateral ligament injury is pain directly over the ligament. Swelling over the torn ligament may appear, and bruising and generalized joint swelling are common 1 to 2 days after the injury. In more severe injuries, patients may complain that the knee is unstable, or feel as though their knee may 'give out' or buckle.

Symptoms of a medial collateral ligament injury tend to correlate with the extent of the injury. MCL injuries are graded on a scale of I to III.

•Grade I MCL Tear
This is an incomplete tear of the MCL. The tendon is still in continuity, and the symptoms are usually minimal. Patients usually complain of pain with pressure on the MCL, and may be able to return to their sport very quickly. Most athletes miss 1-2 weeks of play.

•Grade II MCL Tear
Grade II injuries are also considered incomplete tears of the MCL. These patients may complain of instability when attempting to cut or pivot. The pain and swelling is more significant, and usually a period of 3-4 weeks of rest is necessary.

•Grade III MCL Tear
A grade III injury is a complete tear of the MCL. Patients have significant pain and swelling, and often have difficulty bending the knee. Instability, or giving out, is a common finding with grade III MCL tears. A knee brace or a knee immobilizer is usually needed for comfort, and healing may take 6 weeks or longer.

Thanks Doc.

Hope Kellys fit did a good job against Lyon

Where in the world is Degen?

Where in the world is Degen?

Injured and sh*t!!

Where in the world is Degen?

Hopefully on a plane to sign for another club

Injured and sh*t!!

Where's this three months out talk come from? He'll be back in Feb apparently? Was on the back of the Echo today anyway. No permanent damage.

To be honest, I think he's looked a little bit ropey in the last couple of games, defensively. I don't mean poor. Just a bit unstable or indecisive in defence.

Good point you make there. Whilst I have rejoiced at the attacking options Johnson has given us since his arrival, I have always been sceptical about his ability to actually defend. If you check through my posts I have been voicing this concern ever since we were first linked with him, and my opinion has not wavered one iota.

He has been caught out far too many times this season and has been quite a liability at times. The only stand out defensive performance that comes to mind was the United game at Anfield. Now before people start kicking off and slating me here, please remember that when you pay such a substantially large amount of money for a defender, then you would expect his most outstanding attribute to be the ability to defend. Well I would anyway.

Sorry for going off topic here, but it had to be said. I think that during his settling in period, such has been the prevalence of his attacking displays, that they have deflected from the real issue at hand here, his defensive performances. I really rate Johnson as an attacker but he has a hell of a lot to do, to prove himself as a defender.

Kelly has played one senior game, he looked good and if he gets another chance and plays well then Rafa has found what we need.