Justin Kluivert was sorely missed by RB Leipzig against Liverpool and his injuries are increasingly frustrating head coach Julian Nagelsmann.
Winger Kluivert joined Leipzig from Roma on a season-long loan at the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
However, the 21-year-old - son of former Barcelona striker Patrick - has so far been limited to just three starts and 452 minutes of action in a Leipzig shirt across all competitions.
An ankle issue has provided Kluivert's latest setback, with his last appearance coming in January and his last start before Christmas.
Prior to being named in the line-up against Werder Bremen on December 12, Kluivert had scored in consecutive matches against Bayern Munich and Manchester United - his only goals so far this season.
Nagelsmann was impressed by the Netherlands international's performances in those games and believes his dribbling ability could be a real asset; he leads Leipzig with 5.4 dribbles attempted and 2.6 completed per 90 minutes this term.
But the coach was again without Kluivert as Leipzig lost their Champions League first leg 2-0 against Liverpool on Tuesday, with the German team attempting just 11 dribbles and failing to execute a single fast break.
"At the stage when we played Bayern and Manchester [United], it was the Justin we were hoping for," Nagelsmann said. "After that, he was gone again.
"He just trains very little, I don't see him much in training. That's the problem. He has to become more stable in terms of his body.
"Since he's been here, he's had far too few training sessions and therefore too little impact on the game.
"He basically has skills that would have done us good in the game against Liverpool. They would also do us good in the Bundesliga, like his deep runs and fast dribbling. He's also a goalscorer and has a good finish.
"But he simply has to become more stable. He's a little too injury-prone these days."
Leipzig would reportedly have to pay in excess of €10million to make Kluivert's move permanent.
Nagelsmann is not ruling out the possibility but would like to see more from the player over the coming months, referring again to the standard set in a 3-3 draw with Bayern.
Kluivert scored with his only shot at Allianz Arena, playing 78 minutes after being named in Nagelsmann's starting line-up.
"Obviously, we hope he has an even bigger impact on a successful season, that he stays healthy and that he can train more and get fit again for the games," Nagelsmann added.
"He's welcome to do as well as he did against Bayern Munich.
"In the course of the second half of the season, we will then decide what we do and what he wants to do. And how big his influence was and how it then continues beyond the summer or not, we will decide then."
St. Jago, Eltham, STATHS and Wolmer’s through to Walker Cup final four
St. Jago High, Eltham High, STATHS and Wolmer’s Boys all advanced to the semi-finals of the Walker Cup knockout tournament after quarter-final wins on Thursday.
St. Jago booked their spot in the last four after a 3-2 win over Calabar High at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.
St. Jago took an early lead before Calabar equalized in the 45th minute through Kevaun Campbell. St. Jago retook the lead five minutes into the second half through Richardo Lewis before Seon Cato made it 3-1 in the 74th minute.
Calabar got a consolation goal through Sheldon Pusey eight minutes from full time but it wasn’t enough.
In the second game of the double header at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Wolmer’s Boys got the better of St. George’s College 2-1.
Elsewhere, STATHS got a comfortable 3-0 win over Charlie Smith at Calabar to advance while Eltham beat Jonathan Grant 3-1 at the Spanish Town Prison Oval to make it through.
Venezuela 1-1 Brazil: Super sub Segovia holds Selecao to shock draw
Substitute Telasco Segovia delivered the pivotal goal that saw 10-man Venezuela hold Brazil to a 1-1 draw in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying.
The shock result leaves Brazil in third place, trailing second-placed Colombia by two points and far short of Argentina in first.
Brazil opened the scoring just before half-time as Raphinha curled a delightful free-kick over the Venezuela wall from 20 yards out to break the deadlock.
On the other side of the break, however, half-time substitute Segovia equalised just 41 seconds after the restart, striking from outside the box, having run onto Jefferson Savarino’s short lay-off.
The visitors were provided with a prime opportunity to restore their lead when Rafael Romo fouled Vinicius Junior in the box. But the Real Madrid forward was unable to capitalise on the resulting penalty, seeing his initial effort saved before firing the rebound wide.
As tensions rose, the game delivered further drama as Alexander Gonzalez received his marching orders in the 89th minute for lashing out at Vinicius after fouling Gabriel Martinelli.
In a farcical ending to the lively affair, sprinklers popped up in the pitch in added time to delay proceedings, but neither side could find a way through.
Data Debrief: Instant impact for super sub Segovia
Segovia's goal, 41 seconds after coming on, is the fastest for a player coming off the bench in the last three editions of the South American World Cup Qualifiers.
Venezuela have now scored two goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half, only Brazil (four) and Colombia (four) have scored more in the 2026 CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers.
Kelleher repays Ireland trust in Finland victory
Republic of Ireland winger Mikey Johnston said the team had always trusted Caoimhin Kelleher after he made a crucial penalty save in their 1-0 Nations League win over Finland.
Johnston's corner set up Brighton and Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson for the decisive goal on the stroke of half-time, after Finland had twice been denied by the woodwork.
The visitors had a golden chance to level in the second half, but Liverpool goalkeeper Kelleher made a stunning save to deny Joel Pohjanpalo from 12 yards following a handball from Ferguson.
The result means Finland are relegated from Group B2, while Ireland must come through a play-off to remain in the competition's second tier.
Speaking after the game, Johnston credited Kelleher's all-important penalty save, saying: "I always trust him to go and save a penalty. He has reacted really well and stepped up in a big moment.
"We were aiming for the win. They had moments but there were a few chances we could have taken as well.
"We're happy that we've come away with the win. Sometimes in the last year we would have been on the other side of a bit of bad luck."
Ireland round off their campaign against England on Sunday, in Lee Carsley's final game in charge of the Three Lions before Thomas Tuchel takes the reins in January.
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