James Pearce has hinted at a potential return date for injured Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas.
The left-back suffered a broken collarbone during the 1-1 draw against Arsenal just before Christmas, a body blow which has left Jurgen Klopp with no natural senior players in that position amid Andy Robertson’s ongoing absence.
The Reds have duly been linked with left-backs such as Fulham’s Antonee Robinson, but The Athletic journalist revealed that the view from within the club is not to panic buy this month, in the process hinting at when the 27-year-old could be back in action.
Pearce told the Walk On podcast: “You can’t just stockpile senior left-backs when you’ve got Kostas Tsimikas to return backend of February, maybe March time.”
If Tsimikas ends up being ruled out for just two months with a broken collarbone, that wouldn’t be as bleak as the outlook appeared when the injury occurred a couple of weeks ago.
The timing is far from ideal as it overlaps with Robertson’s layoff, but the hope is that the Scotland captain will return before the end of January, and Liverpool have Joe Gomez doing a commendable job at left-back in the meantime.
If the Greece international returns when Pearce has suggested, he could be available for the resumption of our Europa League campaign in the first two weeks of March, along with the Premier League showdown against Manchester City that month.
Robertson will almost certainly be back by then, although Tsimikas’ availability would enable Klopp to rotate between the two and keep both fresh for the run-in to the campaign, which this year could entail a title challenge.
From the current dearth of options in that role, Liverpool could once more enjoy an abundance of left-back riches in just a couple of months’ time.
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