Livepool’s Luis Suarez was named the most valuable player in the Copa America as he led Uruguay to their 15th title, scoring once and creating another in their 3-0 final victory over Paraguay.
His dynamic, all-action displays for his country have confirmed his importance as the main man at Anfield as they aim to achieve a top four finish. However they need to make sure they learn from past mistakes with Torres and give Suarez a reasonable amount of time to recover before throwing him back into the first team picture.
He has been given a three-week break before Liverpool’s Premier League campaign starts against Sunderland but there have been reports that he cut short his break to start preparations for the new season. As much as the player wants to get back into the game it is important to make sure he has recovered first.
Medical staff at Liverpool’s Melwood training base will assess the player to test if he is ready to play when he return after this short break. Suarez had a two-week break before the South American competition started and he also had a seven-week ban from November to January after biting an opponent while playing for Ajax which was soon followed by the Dutch winter break. This means he is different to Torres who faced three consecutive seasons with very little rest which ultimately seems to have affected his form.
Torres went three summers without a proper break after the European Championships, the Confederations Cup and ahead of last year’s season, the World Cup and he still does not look to have recovered with his form lagging last year as he moved to Stamford Bridge.
Liverpoolwill have learnt from the mistakes of the past after Torres was obviously not given time to fully recover from his work in these major tournaments. They will want to make sure Suarez remains fit for the majority of games in what will be his first season in the Premier League and so may rest him during most of August.
Dalglish will not want to play one of world footballers rising stars if there is any risk of him risking injury or burn out so it is unlikely that Suarez will start against either Sunderland or Arsenal but could easily be on the bench for both games. He could then make his first start against Bolton on August 27 and this will give him the chance to get rid of any fatigue and regain his freshness for the new season ahead as he also played at the World Cup in 2010.
The good news is that as Liverpool are not in a major European competition so it is not like there is a heavy schedule this season as Torres has had in previous years although he was usually rested in the earlier stages. Also Suarez will also get another break only four weeks into the season when the Premier League action is disrupted due to the Euro 2012 qualifying. So it not like other seasons as Luis should have plenty of time to recover for this season.
Surely giving Suarez as much time to recover as long term prevention is better than risking him now for short term gain. If resting him for the first few games means he will be fit at the business end of the season surely this is the right compromise to make especially when we have all seen what he is capable of in this year’s Copa America.
Written by Aidan McCartney for FootballFancast.com. What do you think, should Suarez start against Sunderland or should he be rested to make sure he is fit for the full season? Let me know your thoughts and follow me on twitter @aidanmccartney
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I seem to remember in the not too distant past a time when we “rested” players for games as we slipped to defeat after defeat. But maybe I am wrong?
stuff the medicalo staff – suarez is a fit young man and we need him form day one – lets have no mare of this nonsense.