Martin Skrtel Injury: Updates on Liverpool Defender's Status and Return

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel had not played since suffering a hamstring injury on Dec. 20. However, he returned on Sunday to boost manager Jurgen Klopp's options.

Continue for updates.

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Skrtel Back vs. Southampton

Sunday, March 20

Skrtel came on as a half-time substitute for Liverpool at St Mary's.

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Veteran Defender Key for the Reds

Skrtel is the kind of defender every team in the Premier League would love to have in their squad, and as such, he has been missed by Liverpool.

There is an onus on centre-backs to be comfortable on the ball in the modern game, and although Skrtel doesn’t struggle with his distribution, it’s not where his strength lies. Indeed, the Slovakian loves a tackle and is dominant in the air, and when put up against physical centre-forwards, he rarely finds himself losing a battle.

Klopp does have strength in depth at centre-back, however. Dejan Lovren and Mamadou Sakho have formed an impressive partnership, meaning Skrtel faces a fight to regain his first-team spot.