“He got kicked right at the end of the first half.” Dalglish said. “He turned Jonathan Woodgate. He made contact with him but he tried to stay on his feet to take the chance. That’s where he hurt his leg.”
Suarez scored two second half goals that lead Liverpool past Stoke City in the Carling Cup. He was substituted after 86 minutes, and labored to the Liverpool bench.
The posse of brawny Stoke defenders did not hesitate to play the Uruguayan marksman physically in an effort to stop the constant menace he posed them.
The contact with Woodgate that Dalglish cited was not serious enough to keep Suarez off the field in the second half. The goal scorer was all smiles on the Liverpool bench as he watched his teammates close out the game. He limped toward the traveling LFC supporters after the game, smiling and applauding their efforts.
Liverpool has not released a statement regarding the player’s condition, but it seems to be a case of him being hurt as opposed to injured.
The Reds return to English Premier League play Saturday when they visit Roy Hodgson’s West Bromwich Albion. The Baggies have one of the league’s better defenses, as they’ve conceded 11 goals in 9 league games.
The incident between Woodgate and Suarez was a moment of minor contention in the game. In first half stoppage time, Jay Spearing played a through ball that Suarez ran onto 25 yards from the Stoke City goal.
Isolated against Woodgate, he created space with a bit of tricky dribbling. The oft-injured England international lunged into his tackle, made contact with Suarez, but missed the ball.
The Liverpool hero kept his footing, took another step and hit a shot that went wide of goal. Had he gone down, there would have been legitimate appeals for a penalty.
“That just emphasizes what we say about the wee man. He had the opportunity to stay on his feet (and did).” Dalglish said.
