I think it does make a difference but it’s relative to the score at the time .
We asked him to start a must win game and against a team with ten men packed behind the ball . A lot of pressure on him to make the difference , Kent was running about mad chasing lost causes the lot . Far more likely to ping a hammy running full pelt than at any other time .
For his first competitive game in months and given that he trained on his own for much of pressure season I do think we made a mistake throwing him in.
Gerrard himself confirmed last week Kent needed “ several higher intensity training” sessions before he would be ready .
Regarding the sub question, if he had been kept on the bench , and all being well brought in for the last ten minutes for a cameo to get a feel for it again , welcome from the fans , don’t go mental charging about and then this coming week another few proper training sessions .
Yes he COULD pull his hammy at any point , but what Gerrard did by throwing him in from the start considering he hadn’t played in months with the pressure on I think contributed to it happening.
The truth is it can’t be proven either way so we just need to accept it’s happened and move on . But I can see and agree with people who think that it wasn’t a wise choice to start him - many said it before the game as well , we weren’t all shouting he must start as has been claimed by some .