In the second part of the ECHO’s Next Gen series, the situation of Kaide Gordon is assessed as he closes in on a return to full training after nearly 18 months out
It’s been a long road to this point for Kaide Gordon but the sight of him back in the Liverpool gym this week was hugely welcomed.
Gordon’s injury nightmare dates back nearly 18 months and he has not featured in a team at any level since a 3-0 defeat for the Reds’ Under-21s by Leeds United in the Premier League 2 on February 7 of 2022.
A pelvic problem linked to his physical growth has been the root cause of the long-standing issues, which Liverpool have carefully managed over much of the last year-and-a-half. After such a long spell on the sidelines there will be few expectations or demands placed on his young shoulders but his imminent return will be celebrated by those who have watched on sympathetically during that absence.
Gordon was back running at the club’s AXA Training Centre in May and while no timescale has been placed on his return to a match-day squad yet, it was heartening to see him snapped alongside some of his more senior colleagues this week as he was put through his paces in the gym of the Kirkby base. He is at least pencilled in for a return to full training this month.
It’s unclear when Gordon will be cleared to make that long-awaited competitive comeback, one he – as an 18-year-old with senior experience, – must be absolutely itching to make, but whenever it comes, it will be a testament to his mental strength and the club’s staff who had worked tirelessly to ensure the former Derby County youngster can rid himself of the problems.
“What is difficult with certain kind of injuries, especially with younger boys who are growing, they are complicated,” U21 boss Barry Lewtas told the ECHO last month. “It’s not like when you break a bone, then the bone heals and you crack on.
“Some of these injuries are more complex, and unfortunately for Kaide it has been that. It has been linked to his growth, and Kaide is taller and bigger now than when he last played.
“We always knew never to put a timeframe on it as we knew it could be a long one and we didn’t want to set his hopes too high, and wanted to keep him in the right frame of mind as well.
“It’s without raising expectations of anybody else as well, as he’s a player who has already made an impact in the first team. He’s been running around the pitch a little bit more, and we’ll see how he goes.
