Liverpool youngster Rhian Brewster has been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing a second operation in his knee and is expected to make a comeback during the pre-season, confirms a report from Liverpool Echo.
The 17-year-old forward was initially expected to be out for three or four months after undergoing a surgery to repair ligaments in his right ankle in January. Liverpool’s U-23 unit were up against Manchester City’s U-23 during the early part of January and this is when the youngster picked up a knock, damaging his meniscus. Brewster rose high for a header and landed awkwardly, which actually damaged his ankle ligaments.
An operation to repair the injury soon followed and was even termed successful by the club, although he was tipped to miss at least three to four months of action. But what followed next was nothing less than a disaster. The 17-year-old started feeling discomfort in his knee which resulted in a second operation being followed, keeping him out of the action at least until the pre-season.
Liverpool’s U-23 boss Neil Critchley said that Brewster will be back fit during the pre-season, but expressed the uncertainty as to whether he will be back before it (pre-season) or after it.
“The knee operation is not going to alter much the timeline on Rhian coming back,” Critchley was quoted by Liverpool Echo.
“It happened at the same time as when he hurt his ankle. The ankle was the major issue – that was where he was getting the most pain – but the knee wasn’t quite right.
“It’s not a major thing but as he’s out anyway they took the opportunity to get it sorted.
“The hope is that Rhian will be back fit in pre-season, whether that’s at the start or towards the end we don’t know yet. He’s got a good few months of rehab ahead of him and we’ll keep reviewing where he’s at.”
According to the Liverpool Echo, manager Jurgen Klopp, who rates the academy youngsters high, has decided to invite Brewster to do his rehabilitation at Melwood. Brewster has seen his personal ups and downs this season, having led England to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup triumph in October.
Back in December, the 17-year-old had claimed that he racially abused by Spartak Moscow’s Leonid Mironov, but UEFA decided to drop the case due to the lack of evidence. Speaking further of Brewster’s attitude, Critchley added that the youngsters if very humble and credited his family for that.
“Rhian is a level-headed boy,” he said.
“He’s very humble, he didn’t get carried away by success and that’s credit to his family.
“Yes, he was down for a bit but when I spoke to him last week he was positive and optimistic. He’s a bubbly character and that will help him.
“He’s at Melwood doing his rehab. That was the manager’s decision and it shows the faith he’s got in him.
“Rhian came to watch us play last week on his crutches. That’s the kind of boy he is. He loves the social aspect of being part of a team.”
Brewster is a future star for us and let’s hope he recovers swiftly before the next season.
