News that Andy Robertson needs surgery on a shoulder injury picked up on international duty was not the update that Liverpool fans wanted to hear from Jürgen Klopp on Friday. It remains to be seen what sort of timeframe the Scotland captain is looking at for a potential return but he is going to be out for a few weeks at least, and more likely a matter of months.
Most prominently, that will present an opportunity to Kostas Tsimikas. The Greek full-back had a promising international break with his country where he laid on an assist and played well, but while he would be the obvious favorite to take on Everton this weekend, he cannot play every minute. “He cannot play all the games from now on so we need other options as well,” Klopp said in his press conference. “That’s what we have to make sure: that we can use all of them.” Joe Gomez was another option for left-back that Klopp name-checked, with the 26-year-old having played there before. But Gomez might yet be needed at right-back to cover for Trent Alexander-Arnold and has been playing well in the center too.
That means that as well as Tsimikas, another Liverpool left-back could be set to get chances. Luke Chambers is a major talent and Pep Lijnders has spoken about him glowingly in the past. Only an injury prevented him from playing a bigger part in the summer’s pre-season preparations.
Klopp also named Chambers as an option, in addition to Gomez. “We have Luke and other young boys who show up in training quite frequently,” he said. “We had them now in the international break training week until yesterday when the other boys were not in yet.
Liverpool defender Luke Chambers could be set to get plenty of opportunities while Andy Robertson is out injured.
Liverpool defender Luke Chambers could be set to get plenty of opportunities while Andy Robertson is out injured.
