Liverpool’s Firmino Faces Spell out with Serious Hamstring Injury

Roberto Firmino. (Getty Images)
Roberto Firmino. (Getty Images)
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Liverpool’s Firmino Faces Spell out with Serious Hamstring Injury

Roberto Firmino. (Getty Images)
Roberto Firmino. (Getty Images)

Liverpool’s Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino sustained a serious hamstring injury in Wednesday’s 2-0 Champions League win over Atletico Madrid and there is no timeline for the 30-year-old’s return, manager Juergen Klopp said on Friday.

The injury could rule Firmino out for a number of matches, starting with Sunday’s Premier League trip to West Ham United as second-placed Liverpool look to close a three-point gap on leaders Chelsea.

Firmino has made eight league appearances this season and has scored four goals. He has another two goals in the Champions League from three games.

“Bobby is not good news with a serious hamstring injury, really unfortunate. We don’t know exactly how long he’ll be out but it’ll be not now after the international break directly. We have to work on that,” Klopp told Liverpool’s website.

Klopp said defender Joe Gomez (calf) and midfielder Curtis Jones (eye) will also miss Sunday’s clash due to injuries.

“Curtis is a completely different story (to Firmino), he was unlucky in training - he got a finger that scratched the eye. I had a lot of injuries to players in my career, that was not involved,” Klopp added.

“He is on the way back but we have to see how long exactly. He will be back after the international break, for sure, but in the international break we have to see when he can start doing proper stuff again.

“And Joey, hopefully after the international break as well.”

Speaking in his pre-match news conference later, Klopp hailed his West Ham counterpart David Moyes who completed 1,000 games as manager in their 2-2 Europa League draw with Genk on Thursday.

Fourth-placed West Ham have been a revelation this season and could climb as high as second in the English top flight with a win.

“He gets better and better,” Klopp said. “I don’t know if he reinvented himself, but it’s absolutely incredible. Everybody who watches West Ham knows they’re now a full package.

“You watch them and it’s fun. They are a high intensity team.”



'World's Oldest Marathon Runner' Dies Aged 114 in Road Accident

 (FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
(FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
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'World's Oldest Marathon Runner' Dies Aged 114 in Road Accident

 (FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
(FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)

India's Fauja Singh, believed to be the world's oldest distance runner, has died in a road accident aged 114, his biographer said Tuesday.

Singh, an Indian-born British national, nicknamed the "Turbaned Tornado", died after being hit by a vehicle in Punjab state's Jalandhar district on Monday, AFP reported.

"My Turbaned Tornado is no more," Fauja's biographer Khushwant Singh wrote on X.

"He was struck by an unidentified vehicle... in his village, Bias, while crossing the road. Rest in peace, my dear Fauja."

Singh did not have a birth certificate but his family said he was born on April 1, 1911.

He ran full marathons (42 kilometer) till the age of 100.

His last race was a 10-kilometer (six-mile) event at the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon when 101, where he finished in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds.

He became an international sensation after taking up distance running at the ripe old age of 89, after the death of his wife and one of his sons, inspired by seeing marathons on television.

Although widely regarded as the world's oldest marathon runner, he was not certified by Guinness World Records as he could not prove his age, saying that birth certificates did not exist when he was born under British colonial rule in 2011.

Singh was a torchbearer for the Olympics at Athens 2004 and London 2012, and appeared in advertisements with sports stars such as David Beckham and Muhammad Ali.

His strength and vitality were credited to a routine of farm walks and a diet including Indian sweet "laddu" packed with dry fruits and home-churned curd.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute on social media.

"Fauja Singh was extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness," said Modi on X.

"He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination. Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world."