Cody Gakpo picks up injury from nasty tackle during Serbia vs Netherlands
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The September international break has gone from bad to worse for Liverpool, with Cody Gakpo joining Alexander Isak on the injury list.The Dutch international was the latest star to pick up what appears to be a potentially serious injury during the Netherlands’ Nations League clash with Serbia.What happened to Cody Gakpo during Serbia vs Netherlands?(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)Honestly, when are we going to cut footballers’ international commitments?It’s all well and good if key stars are picking up injuries during the globe’s biggest tournaments… but is there really a case for the Nations League?Look, it’s a bigger issue than just the Nations League; we get it. Between the domestic cup competitions, 38 Premier League fixtures and Champions League football (and then any potential international ties on top of that), there’s an awful lot of football for Cody Gakpo to be getting on with.And to be completely fair to the tournament, this would seem to be an issue the Dutchman picked up from a bit of a nasty tackle from Sasa Lukic early on in the first half.
But it’s never a good sign to see a player struggling to stay on the pitch, is it?Burn the international breaks, we say.How long could Liverpool be without injured Gakpo and Isak?(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)It’s worth emphasising from the off that no one yet knows the severity of the apparent ankle injury Gakpo picked up on Sunday evening.There’s every chance that Xavi downplays the issue along similar lines to how Graham Potter discussed Alexander Isak’s thigh concern today: “He’s got a small problem with his thigh. It’s not a big one but because of the amount of games we’ve got in a small space of time, he won’t be able to make those.
Like anything, you sometimes get bumps and bruises in the game, you might think it’s a bit of a dead leg or something. Unfortunately after getting it checked out, it’s a little bit more than what you think during the match.