Gareth Southgate has divulged the details of a phone conversation he had with Jurgen Klopp after Joe Gomez picked up an injury during England training, during ITV’s coverage of England vs Ireland (12/11/20 8PM kick-off).
We can imagine that it was an awkward call for Southgate to make as he had to impart more bad news on the Liverpool manager.
However, despite having to be the bearer of bad news for the German, Southgate said that he and Klopp agreed on one thing after Gomez went down.
“I had a long chat with Jurgen last night, we’re all worried about player welfare,” Southgate said.
“I said to him, ‘there needs to be a look at the calendar’. We’ve fortunate in that we’ve got the six subs tonight – and five for the Nations League games. We’ve got to try and lessen the load as much as we can for the players.”
“Unfortunately the injury was so unique in how it happened, we know it was just a consequence of the number of games really.
“Wherever he had been, there is a chance that could have happened. So, we were on the same page. We think the welfare of the players is critical.”
It’s great to hear that both Klopp and Southgate agree that the players’ welfare is critical and that the footballing calendar needs to change.
The sad thing is that they don’t really have a say on the matter, as that’s something the FA, UEFA and FIFA need to look at.
Now more than ever, there are bound to be questions about the point of international friendlies, with the global pandemic limiting travel across Europe for the majority of people, but for one reason or another, these games have gone ahead.
Gomez will now be out for the majority of the season, and that may derail Liverpool’s title charge, and we can only hope that Southgate and Klopp’s beliefs on player welfare are shared by the higher-ups.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
