Monday, April 18, 2011

Jamie Carragher Insists He’s Fully Recovered From Head Injury

Liverpool stalwart Jamie Carragher says he is fine after his horror injury sustained against Arsenal at the Emirates and insists that team-mate Dirk Kuyt is the man to deal with high pressure situations following the Dutchman's penalty which secured a point with the final kick of the match.

Carragher left the play in a neck-brace halfway through the second-half after an ugly clash of heads with young full-back John Flanagan – an incident of which the 33-year-old has no recollection.

Quizzed on how he was feeling, Carragher said: “I’m fine, you know better than me because I didn’t see too much of it.

“I’ll look at the TV when I get home but I feel fine now and can’t really remember it.

“It’s just one of those things, that’s football.

“The main thing is I’ve seen us get the two pens at the end and I thought we’d just lost it late on so I was delighted we got the result.”

Following the result, Lucas Leiva quickly posted the news of Carragher’s recovery on twitter, saying: “Carragher is fine, that's good news”

Carragher left the field with the score line at stalemate and watched on from the dressing room as referee Andre Marriner awarded two penalties during 12 minutes of added time.

Robin van Persie converted after a Jay Spearing foul on Cesc Fabregas, before Kuyt handled the pressure to fire past Wojciech Szczesny – an outcome which didn’t surprise Carragher.

Discussing Kuyt’s finish, Carragher added: “He must be one of the best penalty takers I’ve ever seen.

“I can’t really remember him missing one to be honest. I just hope I’m not putting a jinx on him for the next one.

“He’s so cool under pressure," Carragher added "He took that one in the last minute and two against Everton in one game, a Champions League one against Chelsea. He’s definitely the man for pressure games and big games.”

Liverpool’s resources were stretched to the limit during the ninety minutes as Carragher and Fabio Aurelio left the field with injuries before Andy Carroll was taken off as a precaution after jarring a knee, which fan’s favourite Carragher believes adds merit to the result as Kenny Dalglish called on academy starlets John Flanagan and Jack Robinson.

He added: “With the injuries we’ve got at the moment and the team we’ve got out, young lads who can probably still play for the youth team this season - to play against [Manchester] City and Arsenal two of the best teams not just in this country but probably in Europe and get four points is a great testament to the lads, the club and also the work people are doing at the academy.”

No comments: