There is a ripple of trepidation surging throughout Merseyside right now, with all associated with Liverpool waiting for clarification on the roll of injuries that threaten to hinder a thrilling campaign.
Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota are the latest victims, both withdrawn against Brentford on Saturday and both leaving the Gtech Community Stadium braced in protective gear – Jota with a suspected knee injury.
Jurgen Klopp's side marched on, however, and secured three points to preserve their slender lead at the Premier League summit, two points ahead of Arsenal and five above Manchester City, who have a game in hand.
Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Dominik Szoboszlai are also recuperating from injuries, while Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic are longer-term absentees.
Liverpool still boast a high-quality crop of players but, as Klopp conceded, this is "not cool". Liverpool play across three competitions over the next nine days, hosting Luton Town in the Premier League on Wednesday before heading southward to Wembley to face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final ahead of an FA Cup clash with Southampton next week.
Klopp needs all the players he can find, and while the setbacks are each damaging in their own way, the blow to Jota might be the biggest detriment to the forthcoming torrent of fixtures.
Diogo Jota's season in numbers
Mohamed Salah might have taken the limelight for much of the campaign, scoring and assisting at a frightening rate, but Jota has been sublime this term and has posted 14 goals and four assists across just 18 starting appearances.
Since missing most of December with a muscular problem, the Portugal international has clinched six goals and four assists, leading Reds correspondent Neil Jones to hail his "clinical" efforts.
Only days ago, the 27-year-old ace displayed his creative side by dinking a deft header into Darwin Nunez's path, allowing the brazen Uruguayan to chip Mark Flekken for the opener.
Unfortunately, Jota would be carried off the pitch on a stretcher less than ten minutes later, facing the possibility of a long-term injury.
His absence, to put it plainly, will be a big blow. As per Sofascore, Jota has scored nine goals and supplied three assists from just 13 Premier League starts, averaging 1.1 key passes per match and thriving wherever played – right, left, central, he is a menace and offers unfavoured laterality in his striking, dangerous from every angle.
To emphasise his prowess, perhaps his FBref metrics would help paint the full picture of his value to Liverpool – the £140k-per-week forward ranks among the top 4% of positional peers for goals scored, the top 11% for assists, the top 7% for progressive carries, the top 10% for passes attempted and the top 2% for tackles made per 90 across the Men's Big Five Leagues and European competitions over the last 365 days.
Salah's return is a massive boost to Liverpool's chances over the coming period, but the Egyptian machine would always be the first name on the team sheet from an attacking viewpoint, and it could be Cody Gakpo who will now need to step up with increased responsibility.
Cody Gakpo the likely replacement
Liverpool signed Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven in a £35m transfer just over one year ago, the Dutchman arriving off the back of a striking string of performances at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
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So far, the 24-year-old has clinched 17 goals and eight assists from 60 outings for the Anfield side, grabbing his tenth of the season off the bench against the Bees last weekend.
Once lauded for his "absolutely phenomenal" development on the pitch by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Gakpo matches Jota for versatility and offers a dynamic approach to his attacking play while boasting a fearsome shot to boot, so he's the obvious pick to fill his peer's shoes.
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Player
Club
1.
Kingsley Coman
Bayern Munich
2.
Vinicius Junior
Real Madrid
3.
Dominik Szoboszlai
Liverpool
4.
Ousmane Dembele
Paris Saint-Germain
5.
Marcus Rashford
Manchester United
Source: Football Transfers
Showcasing this, Gakpo ranks among the top 17% of forwards for assists, the top 18% for passes attempted, the top 5% for progressive passes, the top 16% for progressive carries, and the top 2% for tackles in the Men's Big Five Leagues and European competitions over the last 365 days.
While the 6 foot 1 star will be expected to maintain a positive level of performance over the crucial business end of the campaign, he's not the only player who might be called upon to take Jota's place, with teenager Bobby Clark and-unlikely, but potentially apt, stopgap.
Why Bobby Clark could replace Jota
Klopp has not exactly shown an aversion to entrusting younger players with first-team roles throughout his Liverpool tenure, with Alexander-Arnold, Jones and Harvey Elliott regular and influential members of the squad.
This season, Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah have emerged as exciting options but neither defender would be a suitable replacement for the injured Jota, obviously.
However, Clark may well be, having already earned five appearances in all competitions, coming off the bench in three of the past five Premier League games.
Spending his early days as a winger but since converted into an all-action midfield playmaker, the 19-year-old has landed 18 goals and 13 assists from 69 matches in all competitions for Liverpool's development sides.
These statistics suggest that he has the potential to step up as both a scorer and a creator of goals at the top end of the pitch, to make up for the attacking contributions that Jota has provided throughout the season, and throughout his time at the club in general.
His youth manager, Barry Lewtas, is certainly a big believer in his qualities, saying: “He’s extremely talented and his pressing is excellent. He’s been a really good player for us, but I also think he’s made massive strides as well, big improvements, and that’s what he’s going to have to continue to do.”
Praised for his "confident" disposition by the aforementioned Jones, Clark has the flair and multi-functionality to step in for his senior teammate, with his 'excellent pressing' exactly what is needed.
Indeed, Liverpool's assistant coach Pep Lijnders has previously gushed over the Portuguese ace's energy and tenacity, calling him a "pressing monster", and Clark seemingly has the innate traits to emulate this.
The young gem already made an initial mark on Liverpool's senior set-up and now is the time for him to walk the same path as Bradley, Quansah, and co and start making a real impact under Klopp's leadership.
It is now down to him to take his opportunity to nail down a place in the first-team on a regular basis if the German head coach does provide him with a chance to stake a claim for Jota's spot.