With the Reds set to have a good number of games coming their way in upcoming weeks, the latest injuries could be a big blow to them.
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Liverpool have received fresh injury blows following the eventful 1-1 draw against Manchester City in the Premier League at the weekend. Two of their first team players – Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota – picked up injuries which could leave them on the sidelines for a while. With the Reds set to have a good number of games coming their way in upcoming weeks, the latest injuries could be a big blow to them.
Ahead of the Europa League group fixture against LASK, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp gave an update on Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota’s injuries. Klopp stated that Jota will be out for a longer period than the Brazilian shot-stopper. “Both are out. With Ali it’s a bit lesser, so we have to see – not day by day, he will not play tomorrow, not on Sunday, probably not the week after. Then it should be kind of OK. Diogo will take a little bit longer, we don’t know exactly how long, but it’s a bit more severe. We have to see,” Klopp, quoted on the club’s website, said.
Klopp believes that the latest injury to Alisson will provide Caoimhin Kelleher with a great opportunity to show his potential. Asked about the importance of having Kelleher in Alisson’s absence, the manager said, “Exactly that, that’s why we knew we wanted to have Caoimhin here – for these moments. Nobody, Caoimhin [included], wanted Ali to get injured but if these kind of things happen then you need the strongest possible option and that’s Caoimhin for us. That’s the only positive about that, to be honest, we can put in Caoimhin and that’s fine. Now he gets the opportunity, which he deserves anyway, he would have played tomorrow night anyway, that’s clear. But now he will have a few more games and hopefully he can show his full potential.”
Liverpool have a hectic set of games coming their way, as they are set to play a good number of matches in the next couple of weeks. Speaking about it, Klopp said, “We are in the beginning of the most intense period of the whole season, that’s how it is. We play now Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday – that’s super-tough. And then I don’t know what the next game is after that but that’s probably Thursday again?”
He added: “Crystal Palace is the last game of these four games in a pretty short period of time, so we have to make decisions and I have to make decisions, that’s clear. But it’s not about qualifying [for the Europa League knockouts], or whatever, it’s about winning a football game and against a really good opponent. We won there, yes, but we had our struggles in the game, we didn’t forget that. And more important, LASK play a really good season. They have a good way, they look well set up and these kind of things – and we respect that, we always did.”
Besides, Klopp wants to see a proper “European night” at Anfield for the Europa League fixture on Thursday night. “But what we have tomorrow, and what we have to make [the most] of, is an atmosphere. So if people are here then we have to make sure this is a European night. That’s what I expect us to do, a European night, a proper European night at Anfield, really going for it. I will line up a team – I didn’t hear anything yet that I cannot, all the others besides the injured players – [so] I will line up a team who has fresh legs, who will go for it, who want to enjoy the game and will really fight for a result. And if Anfield wants to do that as well, that would be massively helpful,” he stated.
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