Luis Suarez's World Cup dream is seemingly hanging in the balance somewhat after the Uruguayan forward picked up a knee injury and had to undergo surgery.
As per BBC Sport, the surgery to repair meniscus damage was a success and the Uruguayan football association hope he will be fit in time to take part in Brazil, with the tournament kick-off less than three weeks away.
While that's great news for his nation, and for the player himself, it doubles up the need for his club Liverpool to make sure they make the most of the summer and sign a top-quality attacker to help and, when necessary, step in for Suarez next season.
End of Season Form
Ask any Liverpool supporter and they'll rightly tell you Luis Suarez had a phenomenal 2013/14 campaign, where he jointly won the European Golden Shoe for scoring 31 goals and made a clean sweep of end-of-season awards domestically.
He noticeably, however, suffered a slight dip in form toward the end of the campaign, no doubt borne of the intense stress of the championship fight that Liverpool were involved in and his relentless style of training and playing. Suarez leaves nothing on the pitch; tiredness and dips in form at some point are an inevitability, even for him.
With Daniel Sturridge suffering a similar mini-dip around the same time, Liverpool's options to rest, rotate or swap players around were minimal; even with Fabio Borini probably returning to the squad, Liverpool need another attacking option of top quality who can contribute on a regular basis next season.
Surgery Issues
B/R's resident injury expert Will Carroll has underlined just why Suarez should be fine to compete at the World Cup, but also why Liverpool will have to perhaps tread carefully with the forward next season.
Increased games, increased stresses on the top players and surgery on their player that Liverpool have not presided over will all be concerns for Brendan Rodgers and his recruitment team to ponder over summer.
Quite possibly, the Reds will have to offer Suarez time to recuperate at different stages next season to ensure there are no long-term effects by the routine, but hurriedly decided, surgery. Again, in that case, they will have to be looking at bringing in an attacking player who can ensure the side can perform to the same level, even if it is not a direct Suarez replacement in tactical terms.
In other words, a very, very good attacking signing, and not Iago Aspas.
Champions League and All That It Brings
Having qualified for next season's group phase already, the Reds know they'll be bringing in a tonne of prize money and the lure of continental football they couldn't offer prospective recruits this time last summer.
That money needs to be wisely spent, being a finite resource and all, but it also needs to find a balance of players who bring depth to the squad and raise the quality of the starting XI. Not every signing can do both, which is something fans have to bear in mind.
By Karl Matchett , World Football Staff Writer
Source: Bleacher Report
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