Injured Kirkland handed season K.O. Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. The 21-year-old suffered a tear to the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in a collision with Crystal Palace striker Dele Adebola during yesterday's FA Cup fourth-round tie at Selhurst Park. An MRI scan revealed the torn ligament and the club must now decide how best to treat the injury. No date has yet been set for Kirkland's return, but the injury will definitely keep him out for the remainder of the current campaign. Rest of article here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=256057&cc=3436
I saw the collision on FSW. The game is being replayed right now as we speak. It looked pretty bad. Best of luck to Dudek.
Obviously not the nicest way to get his place back in the team, but an injury or bad form for Kirkland was the only way Dudek could get back into the picture. Just hope the bad spell is well and truly behind him. We know Dudek is a great keeper and this will reestablish him as one of the best.
Dudek looked good in the Liverpool v Arsenal game. The two goals he let in were not his fault and he made many fine saves keeping Liverpool in the game till the end.
Per Liverpool: Jerzy Dudek says his spell out of the Anfield limelight has made him stronger and more determined to prove his worth. Dudek made an impressive return to first team action against Arsenal on Wednesday, producing a string of fine saves to keep the league leaders at bay during the 2-2 draw at Anfield. The Polish star feels his dip in form before Christmas is now a thing of the past and that he has benefited greatly from his time out of the first team. "I think it's true that I have become stronger after my crisis. The break was a new experience to me. The last month hasn't been so difficult because I had accepted my situation. I let my body and mind rest and I knew that was the only way to get through my crisis. "After the New Year I thought I had a fresh mind again and regained my strength and will. "I started to work harder and do even more than the coaches asked me to and now feel more self-assured, and I try to be back to my old form. "I think my poor performances were caused by my very long season. The lack of energy caught up with me at the end of November. During training I was doing well physically but I was poor mentally. I couldn't concentrate during the match so I have made stupid mistakes. "I was tired even before the Manchester United game and I was thinking about the possibility of losing my place, I couldn't escape that feeling. "But I've lost a curious goal - I have never made such a mistake in my life."