Two more injuries kept Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez out of action prior to their game against Brentford. As a result, the Reds were victorious.
Prior to the visit of Thomas Frank’s powerful team, Liverpool was anxious about the health of both captain Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch, who were absent from the side’s loss to Toulouse in the midweek Europa League match due to illness and injury, respectively.
Gravenberch did not play in the 3-0 win over Brentford, but the rest of the team was able to help Van Dijk tremendously, and he turned in yet another excellent performance at the back. In addition, Jurgen Klopp, the manager of the Reds, had limited options available to him in the middle of the field due to the fact that Alexis Mac Allister was suspended for one game and Curtis Jones, Thiago Alcantara, and Stefan Bajcetic were all injured. Trey Nyoni, a highly regarded 16-year-old player, was forced to make his debut on the substitutes’ bench for the first time since his transfer from Leicester City in the summer.
However, Klopp was also plagued by problems on the defensive side of the ball as Gomez and Konate joined Andy Robertson on the bench. Didier Deschamps has decided not to include Konate in the France team for their next matches against Gibraltar and Greece because of the injury that he is currently nursing. The position of defender previously held by Konate has been taken over by Axel Disasi of Chelsea.
The formal diagnosis in regard to Konate and Gomez has not yet been made public at this time. Klopp is concerned about the fitness of several of his players, including Mac Allister, who is due to make his return for Saturday’s match against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
The name Ibrahima Konate.
Even though Konate’s current status is unknown, the severity of his injury is such that he will be unable to participate in France’s upcoming international matches because of it.
The 24-year-old returned from the international break in October with an injury, which forced him to miss Liverpool’s triumph over Everton and kept him out of action for the rest of the season. Klopp, who has been open about his discontent with the number of fixtures and player welfare, made fun of Les Bleus boss Gérard Deschamps in the previous month. Klopp has been vocal about his displeasure with the amount of fixtures. “He (Konate) did not start tonight,” he stated emphatically. He is not even a member of the squad.
“I admire everything about Ibou, but in light of the fact that this chance has presented itself, we have decided to give him a little respite. Ibou has had some trouble with ailments recently, but Monsieur Deschamps has allowed him to play for a total of 90 and 87 minutes in the last two matches. Obviously, he had the ability to perform tonight, but he has another event scheduled for Sunday.
Ibou gave instructions to say to Monsieur Deschamps that this was the proper way to rest a player. Not just the first thirty minutes. Despite this, Ibou has exceeded our expectations in every way. He is a terrific young man as well as a fantastic football player, and France is really fortunate to have him.
According to Fabrice Hawkins of RMC Sport, Konate was forced to sit out of the encounter against Brentford because of a hamstring issue. In a tweet, he said, “Ibrahima Konaté will not be playing for Liverpool this weekend due to a minor muscle injury he sustained during the warm-up on Thursday in Toulouse while playing in the Europa League.” Konaté suffered the injury while playing in the Europa League in Toulouse. The treatment for his injuries will take around two weeks to complete.
Joe Gomez
Considering how well the England international has started the season, Gomez’s absence was unexpected and disappointing.
The 26-year-old’s play declined the previous campaign, and the Reds were eliminated from the Champions League. He has, nevertheless, thus far demonstrated defensive consistency and adaptability, which has been essential to the team’s early-season success.
Ryan Gravenberch
Gravenberch might have made an appearance against Brentford, as Klopp had previously suggested, but he would be ready for selection during the international break.
Ryan has a minor niggle in his knee, according to the Liverpool boss, who made this announcement on Wednesday. “We hope Brentford has a chance and he will return after the international break, but it doesn’t assist for today. He was running today (Wednesday). This is the reason Toulouse isn’t present.
Curtis Jones
Jones has missed the last three games for the Reds due to a “low grade” hamstring injury he sustained during Liverpool’s Carabao Cup victory over AFC Bournemouth, but he should be back for the trip to Manchester City.
“Curtis had a minor hamstring problem. He will return after the international break, but not before. It’s a very minor hamstring strain,” Klopp remarked.
“After receiving a red card for lack of rhythm and winning the games, he was in fantastic shape but felt a touch off. When I took him off against Bournemouth, he was resting in the dressing room and felt something, but he didn’t feel anything there. We had a very low-grade scan, but it cleared him.
Andy Robertson.
Robertson is also not present. After sustaining a dislocated shoulder during the Tartan Army’s loss to Spain in October, the captain of Scotland has been sidelined.
Following surgery for the injury, Robertson is anticipated to make a comeback in the upcoming year.
Thiago Alcantara
As a result of a setback in his recuperation from pelvic surgery, Thiago is still not able to perform.
The Spaniard’s 31-minute cameo against West Ham United in April was his last appearance for Liverpool. He is anticipated to return in the upcoming year.
Stefan Bajcetic
Bajcetic is also not playing since he experienced a setback in his recuperation from an injury. His current issue is unrelated to the one that ended his historic campaign the previous year.
But there’s no date of return for the young Spanish man.