With the gas tank he possesses, you’d be forgiven for thinking James Milner is more machine than man.
But it turns out that really does bleed actual human blood. Milner opened the scoring for Liverpool in their penultimate preseason friendly – a 5-0 victory over Napoli in Dublin – but he was replaced by new signing Fabinho shortly after half-time.
Another great preseason performance from the lads – leaving Ireland with a headache though 🤕#thanksDublin 🇮🇪#15stitches#onegoal#SavingPrivateRyanextra pic.twitter.com/SOlms7hB06
— James Milner (@JamesMilner) August 4, 2018
The versatile Reds star, who put his teammates to shame in the first fitness test of Liverpool’s preseason, sustained a nasty head injury after an accidental clash of heads with Napoli’s Mario Rui in the second half.
Blood began streaming from Milner’s forehead and while the injury is likely no more than superficial, manager Jurgen Klopp described it as “the big shadow over that game.”
Milner needed 15 stitches and he’ll be sporting the battle wounds for a few weeks at least but you’d imagine he’ll be available for Liverpool’s Premier League opener against West Ham at Anfield next Sunday.
“I knew that he would get stitches because we saw it on the pitch,” Klopp said of Milner after the game.
“He’s in the dressing room so I have to see him first before I can say more.
“That’s obviously the big shadow over that game.”
