Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has admitted that he takes five pills before every game in order to deal with the pain caused by injuries.
The 28-year-old has featured four times in the Premier League for Jurgen Klopp's side this term but was left on the bench for the 1-1 draw with Burnley and the 5-0 humiliation at Manchester City earlier this month.
The Croatia international has now claimed that he missed both games due to pain in his "whole body" and is "taking pills so I can play".
"I have problems for the last two weeks with my whole body, it hurts," he told Sportske novosti. "I have problems with my back... and now I have hurt my Achilles tendon.
"I play, but I'm not training at all. I can't train. The biggest problem is my back. That's why I skipped the matches against Manchester City and Burnley in the Premier League.
"I have big problems with the left side of my body. I'm taking pills so I can play. I take five pills before every game.
"All this time I'm playing under tablets. It's not normal to have four of five tablets before each game. I wanted to play, the coach put me in the team, but it is not good. I'm worse and worse. For a long time, it makes no sense."
Despite being plagued by injury problems, Lovren has been named by Croatia boss Ante Cacic in the squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Finland and the Ukraine.
Neil Wilkes
