Players form following a return from injury

[AKCJ]

We seem to have a massive problem reintegrating players when they're back and fit following injury.

 

Ricardo

Barnes

Maddison

Evans (seems to come back for a week then go missing for the next 3)

Castagne

Soyuncu

 

All picked up an injury at some point and have come back looking completely different. What's the problem? You'd think with the facilities we've got that players would come back from injuries as fresh as daisies. I'm not holding out much hope that the likes of Evans, Justin and Fofana will come back into the team at some point and fix our issues.

[Ric Flair]

Just now, AKCJ said:

We seem to have a massive problem reintegrating players when they're back and fit following injury.

 

Ricardo

Barnes

Maddison

Evans (seems to come back for a week then go missing for the next 3)

Castagne

Soyuncu

 

All picked up an injury at some point and have come back looking completely different. What's the problem? You'd think with the facilities we've got that players would come back from injuries as fresh as daisies. I'm not holding out much hope that the likes of Evans, Justin and Fofana will come back into the team at some point and fix our issues.

I suppose for context we need to measure other clubs who have players out for a long while and then whether they hit the ground running or not. It feels worse for us because we've simply had so many injuries in the last season, it would be nice though if we could ready players to come back in and not be an absolute liability though. 

[AKCJ]

1 minute ago, Ric Flair said:

I suppose for context we need to measure other clubs who have players out for a long while and then whether they hit the ground running or not. It feels worse for us because we've simply had so many injuries in the last season, it would be nice though if we could ready players to come back in and not be an absolute liability though. 

Do you agree though that it's odd that all of them seem to have come back much worse off?

 

Normally with an injury you get a couple of games to get going again and then you're back to normal. All these lads seem to have taken months to get back to full fitness. Maddison and Ricardo especially. Like they're two different players.

[Ric Flair]

Just now, AKCJ said:

Do you agree though that it's odd that all of them seem to have come back much worse off?

 

Normally with an injury you get a couple of games to get going again and then you're back to normal. All these lads seem to have taken months to get back to full fitness. Maddison and Ricardo especially. Like they're two different players.

Yeah it's a concern, I can understand long long injuries like ACL's but Vardy last season was terrible for ages when he came back and obviously Maddison has been in a slumber for months. Barnes I'm hoping isn't in the same boat, he's looked alright so far but he has spells like this anyway and often needs the team to be playing quicker football to get him in the areas he's best at.

[Sharpe's Fox]

I honestly think this is less related to injuries and more the impact of Rodger's coaching over the last year, which now seems obsessed with team structure and holding positions rather than using the atrributes of a player to express themselves.

[coolhandfox]

When you consider Virgil van Dijk has slipped seamlessly into the Liverpool side after a ACL.

Edited 1 October 2021 by coolhandfox

[Crinklyfox]

At least part of the problem will be confidence.  An injury, especially a serious one, puts the player out of the game and that can have an impact on future performance; it's a bad experience and the player may not be willing to throw themselves 100% into training or matches for fear of repeating the problem.  And a negative mindset is less willing to take risks in general, a problem I think we're seeing now in matches with 'safe' passing sideways and backwards resulting in the creation of few if any goal opportunities.

[teblin]

6 hours ago, AKCJ said:

We seem to have a massive problem reintegrating players when they're back and fit following injury.

 

Ricardo

Barnes

Maddison

Evans (seems to come back for a week then go missing for the next 3)

Castagne

Soyuncu

 

All picked up an injury at some point and have come back looking completely different. What's the problem? You'd think with the facilities we've got that players would come back from injuries as fresh as daisies. I'm not holding out much hope that the likes of Evans, Justin and Fofana will come back into the team at some point and fix our issues.

Castagne seems fine to me. But the others you have a point.

[foxinsocks]

Weve had serrious injuries that reduce confidence

[Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot]

Definitely considered this myself. Ricardo I totally get his injury was horrendous and any acl injury will take a long time to come back from, still with modern medicine how it is some players never reach the heights after such an injury, but the others are definitely a concern, Evans is constantly injured, barnes hasn't been the same, madison just never looks fit or bothered (though positive coming on the other night for the first time in a long time), soyuncu doesn't have a fitness problem but a total lack of confidence it seems like. I'm seriously worried about JJ and Fofana going forward. 

[cruzFOX]

If I were Top I'd seriously be organizing an all hands meeting to ask these kinds of questions. I don't know the stats but I'm sure they are out there but have we been the most badly affected team in the premier league with regards to long term/serious injuries? This HAS to be investigated. We have a state of the art training facility now and I hope we equally have some of the best physios and docs to look after the players. Surgeries seem to have gone well since everyone has rehabilitated well but its the slow fitness, confidence issue that worries me. I'm not saying we should miraculously expect every player to return to 100% upon their first game back but surely it should be better that what we are seeing. Evans as many have pointed out is becoming a constant sick note now. In this regard I do feel for Rogers as it must be frustrating as hell not to be able to rely on a leader like that. The sooner we get some stability and consistency back in our first 11 the sooner this season will get back on track. Until then expect more rollercoaster games sadly we are not in a happy place and the opposition smells blood.

[turlo]

It's been a mixed bag really. Ndidi and Castagne came back from injury at the start of our really good run of form last season in late November and got back up to speed pretty quickly. Cags was a bit hit and miss when he came back last season and while he did have some very good games he did have some shockers (Arsenal, Newcastle and Spurs at home).

Ricardo was rushed back too quickly last season to the point where he was playing 3 games a week in February.. He looks to of regained his change of pace this season and has been v good going forward at times but hasn't been up to scratch defensively.

As for Maddison , god knows what's up with him. Sometimes he looks to be struggling with his hip and some times looks to be moving ok.  

 

[Dan]

I feel like we're in this almost perpetual cycle now of rushing players back from injury due to other injuries, encouraging more injuries from said players and more of the same as a result. We've gotten into a serious rut with them ever since Ricardo got injured initially. It's infuriating and undermines everything good we do.

[Fox92]

It's staggering/worrying how many injuries we're getting now. Never used to happen. Under Ranieri we had few injuries and under Pearson before very little (I know Kasper was out long term for a bit under Pearson). It's not just down to "luck" either.