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| Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson returned from injury against Swansea after three months out |
JORDAN HENDERSON never envisaged a moment where he would seek help from someone pirouetting in a tutu.
Jordan Henderson never envisaged a moment where he would seek help from someone pirouetting in a tutu.
But after a call to the Australian cricket team doctor, consultation with England rugby union staff and contact with medics at the Boston Red Sox, it mattered little that Liverpool also reached out to the Royal Ballet School in an attempt to overcome the torment prompted by their captain’s nagging foot complaint.
His return to a football field has come courtesy of an exhaustive, if unconventional, route through sports science and beyond, one which has tested his character like never before over the ensuing three-months.
That it is now likely to coincide with an afternoon of abuse from Newcastle supporters unwilling to overlook the midfielder’s Wearside roots cannot even threaten to wipe the grin from Henderson’s face.
“Yes, it will be like music to my ears because it means I am back playing,” he smiled. “It doesn’t matter what people are shouting I am just delighted to be back and can’t wait to keep playing really.”
There has been no cure for the chronic heel complaint, plantar fasciitis, that first surfaced in April, but which so rudely interrupted Henderson’s campaign back when the landscape at Liverpool looked entirely different to that of today.
The metatarsal he broke in training just days after returning from New Jersey where he had visited the first of many specialists has repaired.
Yet the pain in his heel that was once “unbearable … burning, stabbing, nervy” – exacerbated by a change of boots but caused by an overload of games for club and country – now simmers under the surface. The hope is that, in time, the discomfort goes completely.
His comeback is being managed and so far amounts to two substitute cameos, although Emre Can’s absence through suspension tomorrow opens the prospect of a return to the starting line-up.
As such, Henderson’s nights follow the familiar routine whereby the opposition dominates his thoughts as opposed to YouTube in the hope of stumbling across a ground-breaking new treatment he could instantly message to club physiotherapist, Chris Morgan.
It was Morgan who contacted Dr Peter Brukner, a former colleague at Liverpool and now at Cricket Australia, rugby and baseball chiefs before touching base with the Royal Ballet over the foot problems dancers endure so as to leave no stone unturned.
The feedback was the same: do not push it. Medicine has yet to find a remedy, although there have been some high profile cases in other sports whereby the fascia ruptures following the use of injections and that sorts out the pain.
“The time out has made me realise what I have got and how much I have wanted to get back,” said Henderson, playing down the notion his situation adds credence to Sir Alex Ferguson’s infamous comments that the player had a problem with his gait.
“You take a back seat and you realise how important football is. I haven’t been nice to be around for the last three months.
“It is pretty hard just to sit and watch a game because I haven’t known anything but playing. My family and the staff have been brilliant. I think people understand I haven’t been myself, especially with the type of injury it is.
“It's been incredibly difficult, not just for me but for the staff as well.
“They have been amazing, not just in terms of trying to find a cure but in supporting me. I can't thank them enough.
“There have been times when I've been pretty down about it because we couldn't find the answers. I worried about it quite a lot. I'd go online trying to find different things that maybe someone hadn't seen.
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| Henderson had to inform his Reds' team-mates of the sacking of former manager Brendan Rodgers |
“Now I'm at a point where I can function – where I can train and start playing some part in games.
“With my metatarsal, I knew exactly what kind of time scale I'd be out for. You can really focus on each step and what you need to do.
“But with my heel there isn't a time scale, there isn't really a cure. That's been the most difficult part, never knowing how long it would be before I was back, especially considering I haven't missed too many games over the past few years.
“It’s hard not to be conscious of it because I have been out for that long with it. There are maybe times in the game when I feel it a little bit and I am thinking, ‘Is it back?’ I just need to forget about that and concentrate on playing football.
“If it comes back, it comes back.”
That so much has changed since Henderson hobbled off in late August with Liverpool on their way to beating Bournemouth, making it six points out of six points, has added to his frustration.
There has been a switch of manager with Jurgen Klopp replacing Brendan Rodgers, who had named the England international captain following Steven Gerrard’s departure.
It was Henderson who was asked to inform his team-mates of Rodgers’ departure; his sadness intermingled with a desire to make his mark under the new man.
“It's all been a bit mad, hasn't it?” he says with understatement. “You feel helpless when things aren’t going well and you want to be in the team, to make things right and help the team improve.
“Then, on the other hand, when the team is doing very well you want to to be playing. So, yes, I’ve felt a little bit helpless.
“I've had issues going on, but I’ve tried to take responsibility off the field with anything the lads have needed.
“And I’ve still supported them by going to all the games, home and away, and trying to stay involved in that way.”
One of Klopp’s first acts after confirming Henderson would remain as captain was to send him away. The player had typically thrown himself into his rehabilitation, arriving at Melwood first thing and leaving late, and the manager sensed a break would do him good.
He went to Dubai, though if Henderson has his way they will be apart no more.
“On the training field, he comes across very energetic and passionate and wants us to be like that when we are playing,” said Henderson.
“That has transcended into the players really. If you look at our performances of late they have been really high intensity and high quality, with and without the ball, and he has got that message across very clearly and very well.”
Liverpool’s resurgence was typified by the 6-1 dismantling of Southampton in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday which came with so many players unused.
Competition for places is fierce, yet it is a challenge history shows the skipper will not shirk. Henderson’s attributes would seem to align perfectly with what Klopp wants: high energy off the ball combined with quality on it.
“That is always going to be a challenge in football, no matter what club you are at or what player you are,” he said.
“You are always pushing yourself to be better and to do more. There are always going to be people challenging your position and that is part and parcel of football. That is healthy.
“We have a great squad that is doing very well at the minute and everyone is fighting for positions.
“At the minute we are looking very strong. Look at the people who didn’t play at Southampton: Christian, Milly, Firmino, Clyne, Coutinho, Flano, Ingsy.
“There are still a lot of good players who didn’t play and it was an incredible performance.
“The good thing is the amount of games we have got. We have a game every four or five days really, so the squad will have to be rotated in terms of keeping everyone fresh and fit.
“When people are given the opportunity to make an impression I am sure they will. I'm glad to be back and to be part of this team again. Now I want to contribute.”
After everything he has been through, no one should doubt his determination to do so.
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