Andrew Robertson is facing a considerable time on the sidelines after injuring his ankle in a pre-season friendly against Athletic Club.
The Scottish international full-back has confirmed that he suffered ankle ligament damage, which rules him out of the initial weeks of the 2021/22 Premier League season. The Liverpool star picked up the injury during the Reds’ pre-season friendly against Athletic Club (1-1). While there were initial fears over the severity of the injury, Robertson confirmed that the damage wasn’t major via a tweet.
Robertson took on Twitter to thank fans for support ahead of Liverpool’s final pre-season friendly against Osasuna:
Robertson is expected to be a big miss for Liverpool for their opening Premier League fixtures. The Reds played the majority of the previous season without their first-choice defence due to Virgil Van Dijk, Joel Matip, and Joe Gomez picking up long-term injuries. That trend is likely to continue for their opening matches of the 2021/22 season, which include a trip to Norwich and home ties against Burnley and Chelsea.
Kostas Tsimikas, who joined The Reds in July after leaving Olympiacos, is expected to take over the left-back slot. The Greek only a handful of appearances during the last campaign but has impressed in pre-season this time around.
Tsimikas started Liverpool’s final friendly against Osasuna and was one of the better performers on the pitch, even providing a superb assist for Roberto Firmino’s first goal. The Brazilian scored twice before half-time as the Reds raced to a three-goal lead. Osasuna managed to pull one back late on in the match to make the scoreline 3-1.
Robertson’s injury was the only negative in an otherwise productive pre-season for Liverpool. Klopp’s men lost just one of their eight games, drew three, and won four.
