Liverpool midfielder reveals he will miss rest of breakaway season with injury

 Liverpool midfielder reveals he will miss rest of breakaway season with injury

Stefan Bajcetic had a successful season in 2022/23 but he will miss the rest of the season with injury; Liverpool exited the Champions League in the round of 16 and are out of the FA Cup, meaning finishing in the top four of the Premier League is their remaining aim

Liverpool midfielder Stefan Bajcetic has revealed he will miss the rest of the season with an injury.

The 18-year-old has enjoyed a breakaway campaign, making 19 appearances in all competitions and starting nine of his last 12 games.

However, Bajcetic sat out Wednesday night’s 1-0 defeat at Real Madrid that saw Liverpool exit the Champions League in the round of 16, before confirming on Instagram on Thursday that he will not play again this season.

“Unfortunately I have suffered an injury which will keep me out until the end of the season,” wrote the Spain Under-18 international.

“It’s very sad to say goodbye to this great season for me, but I understand that this is part of football and it will only make me stronger physically and mentally.

“I would also like to thank you Reds for all the support throughout the season and I assure you that I will do my best to come back stronger than ever.”

Fellow Spain midfielder Thiago Alcantara is currently out along with Bajectic through injury, while Jordan Henderson was absent from the Bernabeu due to illness. Jurgen Klopp has urged his Liverpool side to focus on a potentially decisive run of Premier League matches after exiting the Champions League with a 6-2 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid.

Liverpool needed a miracle to reach the quarter-finals following a 5-2 defeat at Anfield, but Karim Benzema’s late goal sealed another deserved win for the holders.

The defeat means Liverpool have only one goal left this season – to secure a top four finish in the Premier League to qualify for next year’s Champions League.

Klopp’s side are six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur after a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday and won’t play until their Premier League clash with Manchester City after the upcoming international break on 1 April .

That game at the Etihad Stadium will be followed by crucial meetings with resurgent Chelsea and leaders Arsenal, both of which will be shown live on Sky Sports on 4 and 9 April respectively. “If you want to win the championship you have to be excellent, and tonight we weren’t, so the result is fair,” Klopp said during Wednesday’s press conference following the defeat at the Bernabeu.

“But obviously it’s the, the, championship, and we want to be part of it every year, and that’s the huge task now.

“When we come back from the international break, we have a proper football week ahead, with three games, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, which will probably determine what we get out of it.

“People will say we lost in Bournemouth but this week is quite decisive.

“So we have to hope the kids come back healthy enough, in the right shape, and we’ll try.”

Having already exited domestic cups, Liverpool’s elimination from the Champions League guarantees a trophyless season, but Klopp insists they will give everything they can to finish as strong as possible in the Premier League and secure their goal. “Our job is to make the most of this season as much as possible,” he added.

“It’s strange so far, only our last two games, a sensational performance against Man Utd, a very good football team, and a very poor performance against Bournemouth, again a good football team, but we don’t shouldn’t lose this game.

“It put even more pressure on us. Three points and I think everyone would have really felt it, felt our breath if you will.”

‘Madrid defeat shows how far Liverpool have fallen’

“I think last season, even the season before, you really would have believed that Liverpool would fight back and pull off another miracle like they did under Jurgen Klopp in the past, but tonight there was no sign. for that.

“The feeling is that with a little moan, they gave up. We never really felt that energy and intensity that we expected to launch some kind of counterattack. They had a few chances, but it was Real who had all the play and ball possession.

“To be honest, it was a bit of a mess. There wasn’t a lot of history there and to me it reflects how far they’ve fallen bearing in mind that these were the top two clubs in Europe last season.

“Last year was an exciting final but Liverpool are now out of the Champions League and their best hope of getting back into that competition is in the top four and they will really need that to launch the rebuild Jurgen Klopp wants.”