On the 29th of December, Liverpool extended their lead at the perch of the Premier League table to 13 points, courtesy a gritty 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, despite the positive result, there was a hint of concern for the Reds, considering Xherdan Shaqiri was forced to skip the game against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side owing to a hamstring problem.
After the win, Jurgen Klopp confirmed that the Swiss star faced some time on the side-lines, although the German didn’t expect him to be out for too long. Klopp quipped,
"Shaqiri should have started but last night he felt a little bit the hamstring. Now, he’s out, not for long but maybe a week or 10 days."
The injury could prove to be a massive blow for the Reds, especially in light of their exhausted fixture list. After travelling to the Middle East for the FIFA Club World Cup, Liverpool have played a couple of Premier League games in quick succession against Leicester and Wolves.
And, that trend seems set to continue when they lock horns with Sheffield United on the 2nd of January, 2020 at Anfield. So far, Shaqiri hasn’t had a massive role to play in the title race but with the games coming thick and fast, Klopp would be hoping that the Merseysiders don’t rue the absence of the Swiss midfielder too much.