On-loan Liverpool left-back Owen Beck was subjected to abuse from rival fans after encountering a new hamstring issue during his return from injury. Beck, who is currently playing for Championship side Blackburn Rovers, had to be substituted just 13 minutes into the 1-0 loss against Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon.
The 22 year old was making his comeback after being out of action for seven weeks due to an initial hamstring problem.
As he was assisted off the pitch, Beck became the target of Portsmouth supporters who mistakenly thought he was faking his injury. The Wales under-21 international retaliated by mocking the home crowd with a “going down” gesture. Portsmouth’s win has now put them seven points ahead of the relegation zone.
Blackburn boss Valerien Ismael, who took over last month, expressed his frustration at losing Beck again. He said: “For the first 30 minutes, we were ready and knew it would be a fight against the opponents, and I thought we started well, but we lost Becky (Owen Beck) again, which was a big frustration.
“Owen has a hamstring injury. We need to assess how it is. It’s the same type of injury. We will see. I don’t want to say any prognosis now, we’ll have to wait. On Monday, we’ll have a scan and will have more clarity.”
When fit, Beck – who has made three senior appearances for Liverpool – has been a regular feature for Blackburn this season, having played in 25 matches. He grabbed the headlines back in September when he was sent off in the Lancashire derby at Preston North End for a tackle that sparked a brawl, during which he was bitten by Milutin Osmajic. This incident led to an eight-game suspension for the Preston player.
Without Beck, Blackburn’s performance has dipped, with Saturday’s defeat marking a fifth loss in six games. This poor run of form has seen it drop out of the play-off contention for promotion to the Premier League.
