'Integral' Liverpool star's season is OVER

Arne Slot’s arrival in Merseyside marked the start of a new era at Anfield.

Liverpool are thriving both on and off the pitch, with the club’s 20th league title looking almost certain.

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A number of players have stepped up their game since the new head coach took charge of the Reds including Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konate.

It isn’t just the players currently at the club that have impressed this season though, a number of Liverpool’s loanees have really kicked on and given Slot a lot to think about going into next season.

However, for one of the Reds’ on-loan stars the season appears to have come to a premature end.

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Liverpool wonderkid’s season could be over

Ben Doak has proven why he is considered one of Liverpool’s brightest prospects whilst on loan at Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough side this campaign.

The Scottish winger had cemented a place in Boro’s starting XI, scoring three goals and providing seven assists in the first half of the season.

Unfortunately for Doak, injury struck in February and what at first seemed like a minor setback may have now finished the 19-year-old’s season.

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When asked for an update on the youngster’s condition, Carrick said, via TeessideLive: “We're not writing anything off yet as you probably understand but at this stage of the season it's pretty late, so [a return] is obviously not looking likely anytime soon. Nothing has changed.”

TeessideLive described Doak as an ‘integral part’ of Carrick’s Middlesbrough side, who are still in the hunt for a playoff place with just three games remaining.

Ben Doak’s future

The injury setback will of course be frustrating for Doak, who would have hoped to secure either a place in Slot’s plans or a move to a Premier League side this summer.

The 19-year-old’s injury doesn’t mean that neither of these things will happen, there was plenty of interest from around the Premier League in January and a number of teams are though to still be monitoring his progress.

Doak does however feel less likely to be given a shot by Slot. The Dutchman has been extremely frugal with minutes this season, with former first-team regulars like Harvey Elliott and Wataru Endo receiving minimal minutes this campaign.

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Doak’s season may well be over, but his chance to make it at Liverpool isn’t and the Anfield faithful will be keeping a close eye on his recovery heading into preseason.