Danny Ings could be the unluckiest player to have signed for us since the days of Fabio Aurelio. We all remember how the Brazilian suffered a number of injuries which cut short his career at Anfield, even though he was extremely talented.
And now, Ings has been hit with another injury blow as the former Burnley man was replaced after just 36 minutes in a reserves match. Ings was playing for our U23 side against Manchester City, which we won, but he had to be taken off. However, U23 boss Neil Critchley says it was just a precaution.
“It’s more a precaution than anything,” manager Neil Critchley told Liverpoolfc.com.
“He felt something very early in the game and he wasn’t quite right, so we’re not taking any chances with Danny and there are plenty of first-team games to come.”
“We’ll just look after him and assess him, but I’m sure he’ll be fine,” the U23 boss added.
The comments from Critchley might provide some sort of solace to Ings but until we get a full assessment, nothing can be ruled out.
This was the English striker’s fourth match for our reserve side this season and he would have been hopeful of making a return to at least one of our match day squads ahead of a busy period where we play in the Champions League and League Cup too.
Ings has only made 11 appearances for the senior team since making his move from Burnley in 2015. However, injuries have been a major problem for the 25-year-old as he picked up an ACL injury during the 2015/16 season and then picked up another serious knee injury in 2016/17.
Both the injuries cut short his season and there were many who believed that he would be shipped out by Jurgen Klopp this campaign. The German, however, has kept him at Anfield and hopefully, Ings will be ready for the next reserve game, which is against West Ham.
It does seem like a huge ask of Ings to become our main striker given how well Roberto Firmino has played since taking over that role a year or so ago. We also have Daniel Sturridge in the side and we have added Dominic Solanke to our squad as well.
This certainly is the last chance for Ings if he does see a future for himself at Anfield. Granted, he has been extremely unlucky with his injuries but if we cannot get game time from him, there is no point in keeping the 25-year-old, eventually blocking the progress of other upcoming players.
