Luis Suarez Must Step Up Quickly in Philippe Coutinho's Liverpool Absence

Well he was never going to come back quietly was he?

Luis Suarez’s return to competitive Liverpool action was always going to make headlines whenever and wherever it occurred, and the fact that it is coming in Wednesday night’s Capital One Cup tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford is simply typical of a man who often shuns the easy ride.

There is of course so much that has been written, said and chanted from terraces about the Uruguayan’s relationship with this particular fixture, but looking at things purely from a footballing perspective―if indeed that is possible―will lead many to the conclusion that Suarez is returning at just the right time.

The blow of losing Philippe Coutinho to a shoulder injury for the next few weeks is a significant one for Liverpool, who failed their first test without the gifted Brazilian in last Saturday’s dismal home defeat to Southampton.

Lacking a cutting edge and some ingenuity around the penalty area, the Reds were without a spark and missing the ability to make something out of nothing.

The absences of Suarez, Coutinho and even Glen Johnson all contributed to that, and while Brendan Rodgers will have to get used to being without the latter two for the next few weeks, he was already looking forward to Suarez’s return in the immediate aftermath of the loss to the Saints.

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Brendan Rodgers on Luis Suarez: "That is the positive from today as he has now served his ban and we can bring someone as good as him back."

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 21, 2013"

Whether that was simply an attempt to deflect attention away from what was a very poor performance and a first competitive defeat since being beaten by the same opponents six months ago is another matter of course, but perhaps Rodgers touched on an interesting point at the weekend. Have people forgotten how good Suarez is?

This is, after all, a player who scored 30 goals in 44 appearances last season and would have been a worthy recipient of several Footballer of the Year awards were he not, well, were he not so willing to listen to the voices in his head.

The bite on Branislav Ivanovic committed the last time he set foot on the pitch in a meaningful Liverpool game was stupid, idiotic and something that the vast majority of footballers perhaps wouldn’t come back from.

Throw in his summer-long dalliances with Real Madrid, Arsenal and pretty much any other major football club which fluttered their eyelashes in his direction and you have a complex character the like of which books will be written on in the future, never mind articles such as this one.

There is no doubt that the above dramas as well as the much more serious incident with Patrice Evra has lost Suarez a lot of fans amongst the Anfield faithful, but those fans aren’t stupid. They know that the Uruguayan is one of a select band of world-class forwards on the planet. Liverpool simply can’t afford to freeze him out.

And why should they? He’s their player after all.

In fact, the manner in which the Reds dealt with Suarez’s summer saga won back many supporters who have been critical of their off-field approach in recent years. There was even an argument which suggested it created a feelgood factor which in turn seeped into the impressive early-season performances that briefly took Liverpool to the top of the table.

Now knocked off it in unceremonious fashion at the weekend, it could well be up to Suarez to restore that feeling to a club he certainly owes a debt to.

Barring a prolonged assault on the top places in the Premier League table this is almost certain to be the forward’s last season at Anfield. Perhaps he won’t even last at the club beyond January if an acceptable offer comes in.

But what he can achieve between now and his departure is immeasurable given his immense talent.

In Coutinho’s absence and with a fast, albeit stalled, start to build upon, if that talent can come to the fore straight away then the excitement at Suarez’s return will far outweigh any other feelings.

If that can start at Old Trafford on Wednesday, then all the better.