Andy Robertson opens up on his injury nightmare of 2024 and says he is finally “pain free” after battling through when below 100% for so long

Andy Robertson says he is “pain free for the first time in five months” at Liverpool as the left-back opened up on the injury issues that have plagued him in 2024. The Scotland captain played 79 minutes of Saturday’s Premier League opener as Arne Slot’s side beat Ipswich Town 2-0.

It had looked initially like Robertson might miss out having been absent for most of the pre-season period with a minor issue and having only featured in the behind-closed-doors game against Las Palmas on August 11.

A shoulder injury in October sidelined the Scotland international for close to four months last term and the 30 games he featured in was the joint fewest in all competitions since he moved to Liverpool in the summer of 2017 from Hull City.

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And the defender has now revealed that he was playing through the pain barrier for the final months of the campaign last time out in an effort to make sure he didn’t let either his club or country down at a time when Jurgen Klopp‘s Reds career was winding down and Scotland were involved in the European Championship.

“I felt really good today, all things considered,” Robertson said after Saturday’s game. “Look, I was playing in pain from March onwards and obviously It was a really important time for the club and then a really important time for my country.

“I hoped that the three weeks off would have settled things down but it didn’t and I needed a wee bit longer.

“So I managed to get my fitness up to a really good level in terms of not being with the team, which was hugely frustrating.

“But I made sure I was in America, in every team meeting going, asking the coaches questions, things like that, and trying to learn even when I could not be on the pitch.

“I knew that would put me in the best possible shape when I was on the pitch.

“There’s still lots to learn for all of us – it’s a completely new way of playing and new philosophy and everything. It will take a bit of time, of course it will.

“Obviously coming off towards the end, I started to get a little bit tired, which is normal, but I felt good today, I feel good. I am pain free for the first time in five months, which is always positive, so long may it continue.”

Robertson added: “(Slot) wasn’t happy (at half time, against Ipswich) but we knew that as well. We weren’t happy with our performance and he wasn’t as well.

“He tried to help us to see how we could maybe be a bit better on the ball and get a bit closer to the ball when they had it.

“But like I said, it’s the Premier League and it’s incredibly tough. Ipswich played a good first half, they were on it and they had their fans behind them and we maybe didn’t react to that as well as we possibly could.

“But second half we did and before a ball was kicked, the aim today was to win the game and to keep a clean sheet and we managed to do that.”