• Premier League

Suarez and Henderson need 'protecting from themselves'

Luis Suarez has an unrelenting drive according to Liverpool head of performance Glen Driscoll © Getty Images

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Liverpool's head of performance believes Luis Suarez and Jordan Henderson need "protecting from themselves" as they both possess a desire to work every day at the club.

In an interview with Liverpool's official website, Glen Driscoll admitted that rest days are incorporated into a player's schedule to minimise the risk of burnout.

Suarez, who Driscoll described as "unrelenting", has scored 23 goals since his September return to action while Henderson has started every Premier League game for Brendan Rodgers' side.

However, Driscoll maintained rest days are paramount to curb Henderson and Suarez's desire to work, as they prevent the risk of injury and allow to both players to "fly" during matches.

"What Henderson and Suarez have in common is we believe they are two players who need protecting from themselves," Driscoll told the club's website. "They would take the option of not recovering if we gave it to them and work every day between games.

"Luis is a phenomenon. He has an unrelenting drive and mentality but is also very robust intrinsically.

"You have to admire their work ethic and desire but experience tells us if they did this, it would be detrimental to their performance and increase the risk of injury.

"If we didn't periodise the players appropriately, not giving them two days recovery, and a two-day preparation phase leading into games, which is lighter, we would be at risk of flat-lining players.

"There are other times in the week when we can let them fly, and thankfully they are certainly doing that in matches at the moment."

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