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Liverpool’s medical and sports science staff helped reduce soft tissue injuries at the club by more than half last season.

The Reds’ head of medical services Andrew Massey says careful management helped ensure that members of Jurgen Klopp’s squad avoided hamstring, groin, calf and thigh problems.

Most of the major injury setbacks over the course of the 2016/17 campaign were impact related with the likes of Philippe Coutinho (ankle), Jordan Henderson (foot), Sadio Mane (knee) and Danny Ings (knee) spending significant spells on the sidelines.

The data flies in the face of criticism of Klopp’s training methods with Dutch fitness coach Raymond Verheijen frequently claiming that the Reds boss puts players at risk of injury by over-exerting them.

Massey told rousingthekop.com: “Success for us is essentially enhancing performance and increasing player availability, keeping them in a physical condition that makes them able to perform in a Liverpool team.

“We worked hard this year and decreased our soft tissue injuries, essentially injuries that can be avoided as opposed to traumatic injuries where the medical input has less of a preventative effect, by nearly 60% compared to last season.

“We also reduced the total number of days missed through injury, meaning we are getting players to return quicker, which proves the great work being done by our rehab team.”

Klopp made changes to the club’s medical and sports science departments last summer by bringing in Andreas Kornmayer as head of fitness and conditioning and Mona Nemmer as head of nutrition.

Last month he raided his former club Mainz to add head physiotherapist Christopher Rohrbeck to his backroom staff.

Massey made the step up to Melwood in 2015 after two years working at the Academy.

“It has been a fantastic journey,” he added.

“I am fortunate to be working in a job that I love and because of that it feels like I get to work doing my hobby.

“Liverpool is a great club to work for and has a tremendous history throughout the world. Yet to its credit has still kept that feeling of a family club. There is an ethos, especially in Melwood, that everyone plays their part in the performance of the team.

“My long term ambition is to help Liverpool develop a successful medical and sports science institution which would provide the club and the city with elite level facilities, education and research all in the name of sports medicine.”

The full interview with Massey is available at:www.rousingthekop.com/2017/06/21/exclusive-andrew-massey-liverpool-football-clubs-head-of-medical-services/