'There was nobody' - Joe Gomez on 'traumatic' injury and impact of Liverpool transfer failure

Joe Gomez admits he thought his Liverpool career may have been over three years ago - and has revealed how Virgil van Dijk's initial failure to move to Anfield affected his time at the club.

Gomez is the longest-serving member of the current Reds squad having arrived as an 18-year-old from Charlton Athletic just months before Jurgen Klopp succeeded Brendan Rodgers as manager in October 2015.

While the defender is approaching 200 games for the club, the number would have been significantly higher had it not been for a succession of serious injury problems including Gomez rupturing his knee ligaments, damaging his Achilles tendon, suffering a fractured leg and, in November 2020, rupturing his patella tendon.

And when asked if there was an injury that could end his career, Gomez said: "Yeah, my last one. I got hit with an ACL early and that gave me a new perspective of having to stay on top of things. My ankle ones were semi-bad, but my last one with my knee... There weren't very many people for me (to relate to).

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"ACLs are kind of common and people can relate to that, but this one there was nobody. It was traumatic, I ruptured my patella and my kneecap was up here (points up his thigh). It was out the blue. ACL you feel okay and play on and get a scan, but this was was like a leg break in a way, you have that, 'oh my gosh, what's going on?'.

"I learned a lot about the body and myself. That one gave me a new perspective on the game as I didn't see it coming."

Gomez, speaking to the On The Judy podcast in an hour-long interview, has struck up a close