A Premier League season consists of 38 matches for each team. On top of that, each side plays in the League Cup, the FA Cup and, for a select few, in Europe.
A team that's gunning for all titles could play 65 matches over the course of a season, not including pre-season tournaments, friendly matches etc etc.
That's 5,850 minutes of regulation time football, meaning that over the course of a season teams such as Liverpool and Manchester City will play for an accumulated total of over four days.
So what happens when you have 28 players who dedicate all this time to running around and fighting over a ball? Injuries. And what's the worst thing that can happen to a team that's trying to win it all? You guessed it, injuries.
This season Liverpool have already played 35 matches (not including pre-season), with a definite 13 yet to play and potentially five more if they make it to the Champions League final.
The Reds have already been hit with a severe injury crisis to their back end, with Dejan Lovren playing only 13 games due to various niggles and Joe Gomez playing 18 before breaking his leg. Trent Alexander-Arnold too was sidelined for over a month, while Joel Matip may have made more outings than expected with 16 so far, but he too has been sidelined with a broken collarbone this campaign.
Rewind to the summer of 2018, Liverpool fall at the final hurdle of the Champions League and finish 25 points behind the league leaders. If you're Jurgen Klopp and you're looking for players to take the team to the next level, the first thing you must be after is a player to fill in all the blanks.
In comes Fabinho.
Looking for a fill-in for injured Jordan Henderson and the suspended James Milner? Who you gonna call?
Virgil van Dijk is suspended for the first leg of the clash against Bayern Munich and Lovren hasn't recovered from injury. Who you gonna call?
Alexander-Arnold is out for a month and you've just loaned Nathaniel Clyne to Bournemouth. Who you gonna call?
That's right, Fabinho!
The 25-year-old all-rounder arrived at Liverpool in the summer of 2018 for a reported fee of £39m. The Brazilian began his career at Fluminense, transferred to Rio Ave in 2012 who in turn loaned him to Real Madrid Castilla, before joining AS Monaco for two-year loan spell which became permanent in 2015.
Fabinho vs Bayern Munich
— The Tactical Times Social (@TactTimesSocial) February 19, 2019
66 passes - 82% accuracy
2 won aerial duels
2 tackles won, 1 was last man
4 recoveries
3 clearances
1 interception
1 block
The Brazilian had the tough task of replacing talismanic van Dijk and he did himself real credit tonight. A brave performance. pic.twitter.com/ixmlmLHTqX
Source : 90min