On Saturday, the young Liverpool player Tom Hill appeared on the field for the first time in four months and only for the third time all season after “bad luck” with injuries.
In the two and a half years since Hill suffered his first serious injury as a 17-year-old in 2020, he has grown from a boy to a man.
Now the 20-year-old from Formby has completely exhausted himself after several months spent in the gym, due to a number of injury problems that have limited him to only a few performances in the years since he injured his cruciate ligament.
There have been two dismissals so far in this campaign, both lasting four months — the first due to a pre-season injury in the senior team, and then after a couple of outings to the under-21 team in November.
But coming off the bench after the U21 beat Blackburn 3-2 on Saturday, Hill hopes to forget about his health problems.
“Tom worked very hard and it was great to see him back on the pitch,” coach Barry Lutas told Liverpool’s official website.
“He was desperate to put on his uniform again, go out and play, so the plan was to give him a few minutes.
“It was very pleasant for him to work, because he worked very hard.
“The reality is that he’s really unlucky, so hopefully — and there are still a lot of games ahead — Tom can play a big role for us before the end of the season.”
Hill will join the Wales under-21 squad this month ahead of the last five games of an unlikely title fight with the young Reds and a cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace.
This could serve as a preparation for a crucial season next time, and he will probably stay at Liverpool and hope to gain stable form with the U21 team.
His participation in the first team during their pre-season tour of Asia was a sign of the club’s faith in him, and it was certainly right, given the potential he has shown in past years.
When he suffered his first anterior cruciate ligament injury, Hill was preparing for the campaign as captain of the under-18 team, having already made his debut for the adult team in the Carabao Cup against Aston Villa.
Hill’s problems over the past 30 months show what a good profit young footballers are struggling to break through.
Fortunately, he is in a club that should provide him with the necessary support.
