Liverpool midfielder suffers new long-term injury; loan may be terminated
A long-term injury has hampered Liverpool midfielder James Balagizi’s already frustrating loan spell at Wigan, which could see him return early.
Balagizi signed a season-long loan with Wigan after impressing with Crawley last season, where he scored three goals in 16 games.
However, his time at the DW Stadium has been disappointing, with the 20-year-old appearing only four times at senior level and failing to make a league start.
Manager Shaun Maloney had left him out of his matchday squad for all but one of the last 13 League One games, which coincided with an eight-game win streak.
If Liverpool wasn’t already considering terminating the contract in January, the chances have increased now that Balagizi is out for at least six weeks due to injury.
“James injured his hamstring in training, which is very innocuous, but it doesn’t look good,” Maloney told the Wigan Observer on Thursday.
“We’re probably looking at around six weeks for him, which isn’t good news.”
“We’ll let him and Liverpool decide what happens,” the Wigan manager said of Balagizi’s return to the AXA Training Centre for treatment.
It follows a similar problem for Balagizi this time last year, when the versatile youngster underwent surgery for an injury that ended his time at Crawley in the middle of the season.
There has been no confirmation that Liverpool will recall Balagizi in January, but it is believed that this would be the best option for all parties.
Already out of Maloney’s plans, a lengthy layoff may make it even more difficult for him to break through, and returning for the second half of the season with the U21s may be more beneficial.
Balagizi’s injury problems have previously kept him out of Jurgen Klopp’s first-team squad, with an arm issue keeping him out of pre-season training in 2021.
He was named to the bench for the Carabao Cup match against Norwich and the FA Cup victory over Shrewsbury that season, but he has yet to make his senior debut.
The Manchester native may not be the only Liverpool loanee recalled, as the club must make decisions on Fabio Carvalho, Rhys Williams, and James Norris, who are all out of action.
