Liverpool star Thiago Alcantara may only be expected to make âaround 20 startsâ per season from now on as he continues to find himself in a âvicious circleâ of injuries.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
According to The Athletic (8 August), the Spaniard is set for six weeks on the sidelines following scans on his hamstring injury.
Liverpool are also currently without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones, who are suffering injury problems of their own.
Thiago, who is out of contract at Anfield in June 2024, last managed more than 20 league starts in the 2018-19 season.
Thiago will miss the next six weeks with a hamstring injury đ€
The Spanish International has only made 20+ league appearances in 4 of the last 10 seasons… đČ pic.twitter.com/RLzJSu2Wnb
â SPORF (@Sporf) August 9, 2022
Dinnery suggested Liverpool may need to re-evaluate their expectations of the midfielder, who turned 31 in April.
âThe healing process and the physiology of the body will begin to slow down with the older you get,â he told Football Insiderâs Ewan Kingsbury.
âBut, when you look in context, Thiago has been playing at around the same level for around the last four seasons. He is someone who can manage up to 1700 league minutes â around 20 starts.
âThis latest setback, as unfortunate as it is, just seems to be part of that vicious circle that he is stuck in.
âIt may be that these injuries are a continuation that we can expect to keep happening â and it could be that he can only manage that 17-18 starts a season from now on.â