http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/footbal ... 162058.stm

The nightmare continues.

Step up herr Ballack, it's your cue.

injured and out for a while, tear in right thigh.

do you wonder when we get a lot of injuries if there is a training problem?

Liverpool used to have this problem back in the days when Souness was in charge and I remember a number of their fans blaming the coaching staff. Having said that when you look at most of our injuries they have been broken bones and not pulled muscles.

Thank God. Now atleast Ballack could have a few runs who i think is a better player or i wuld say a true playmaker.

Well both Frank and JT have played an amazing amount fo football at the highest level over the past few years.

Frank being injured is aout the only injury we can realistically deal with at the moment (especially as it is only a couple of weeks). Ballack, albeit only for a game and a half, loks in very fine form however I fully expect that to dip due to lack of match fitness and thus can fill in for Lampard easily for 2 weeks whilst Lampard rests and hopefully comes back sharper when we lose Mikel and Essien.

In addiiton it looks very likely that we will be signing players in January and that one of those players may well be a more creative central midfielder (although where that leaves the plethora of central players we already have is another point for discussion).

if we assume this is Maka's last season and Sidewell's time with us will be sort then that woudl still leave us at the end of this season with

Essien

Lampard

Mikel

Ballack

A New Signing

- if Lampard does end up moving on then arguably that would leave us about the right number, and mix, of central midfielders barring a freak injury crisis.

What we would still need to do is bring in some pace and better quality on the flank.

Gone off subject a little but I guess my iniital point is Lampard being out for 2-3 weeks is not, in my mind, a disaster.

out of interest, who Captains the team in the absence of Terry, Lampard and Drogba?

cant think who took the armband yesterday

out of interest, who Captains the team in the absence of Terry, Lampard and Drogba?

cant think who took the armband yesterday

hint.......................he's here, he's there........yadda yadda yadda

Well both Frank and JT have played an amazing amount fo football at the highest level over the past few years.

Yeah putting his feet up for a few weeks may actually do him (and us) some good in the long run. Frank did ok yesterday, but it has to be said that when Ballack came on it did improve us. I just hope he can keep it up.

I for one am excited about Ballack getting more time on the pitch. Between this injury, and the ACN, we will have plenty of time to either enjoy or bemoan Ballack's play. The Boxing Day game was probably the most exciting game of Football that I have seen in my very brief viewing career.

It's going to be very interesting to see how we will cope without Lampard. He's never injured so him being out for a few weeks really is something new.

But why does everyone have to get injured now? Right when we play the most games everyone gets injured

This will sure hurt. I now really hope the Van der Vaart rumour is true.

i know its only been 1 and a half games, but ballack looks a hell of a lot sharper and better than last season. i though he was excellent against blackburn and impressive against villa.