Liverpool are still unsure of the extent of Joel Matip’s knee injury suffered against Fulham.
Liverpool duo Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota are making good progress in their recovery from injury, but Jurgen Klopp fears Joel Matip could face a lengthy layoff.
Starting goalkeeper Alisson and Portuguese striker Jota were injured in the recent match against title rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
The former was injured late in the second half, while the latter limped off early in the game with a muscle problem. The second half.
It was later confirmed that Alisson’s injury was not as serious as first thought and Jota is expected to be out for even longer.But neither player will be available when Liverpool travel to bottom club Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Wednesday night. Now that Paul Heckingbottom has been sacked, Chris Wilder has taken charge once again.
Klopp confirmed that both players are heading in the right direction. A busy time for competitive listings is coming up. “He jumped on the pitch yesterday on his birthday,” Klopp told reporters at Jota on Tuesday.
“And things are moving in the right direction, but no one has said he will be back for team training today. “No, there’s still some time. It’s still the same. “Obviously Ali was closer, but we can’t meet tomorrow.”
Alisson and Jota could return in the coming weeks, but Matip will likely face a longer recovery in the treatment room.Allison Becker is set to move from Liverpool to Sheffield United.The former Cameroon defender picked up a knee injury in Sunday’s win over Fulham at Anfield, with Klopp admitting after the game that it was “not short-term”.
Asked on Tuesday if he could say for sure how long Matip would be out for, the manager said: “No, I’m not sure, but things don’t look good, I can tell you that.”
“We can’t know for sure as the scans aren’t ready yet, but it’s not good. From the first moment I told him: “No, it’s not right.” “But I don’t know how long it will last.
“Apart from Alisson, Jota and Matip, Liverpool will be without Andy Robertson, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Vaicetic, who have been struggling for a long time following the clash with the Blades.
Klopp is set to reunite with his former sparring partner Wilder during his visit to South Yorkshire, and Klopp admitted he could “give up his experience” at Sheffield United if there is a change of manager.
Klopp also jumped to the defense of Caoimhin Kelleher after he criticized Alisson’s performance against Fulham, making it clear he will not be tempted by growing calls to permanently deploy the versatile Trent Alexander-Arnold in central midfield role following his influential episode over the weekend.
“I’m not stubborn and I don’t want to play him in midfield, absolutely not, but I’m not going to get into the discussion,” he said.“You can talk all you want, but it will have no effect.
“We still have to decide what’s best for the team and that’s how Trent sees it.
He wants to play and from my point of view he has to have an impact and we have to help him define the position. “He was one of the most successful players in Liverpool’s recent history as a right-back. He became a Premier League player as a right-back,” he said.
He could definitely play more inside.”He plays where it suits us.
Joe (Joe Gomez) Ba Ma, Connor (Bradley) Sonda Ma? If they are both there, should one of them be used as left back as Kostas (Tsimikas) will not be able to play every game?”That’s right.
Trent can play in midfield. But we’ve always known that Trent can play the role we give him very well. “If he wants to be good, he has to make an impact in all areas because he only makes us better when he plays well.”
