Liverpool injury news: The Reds beat Chelsea despite being without 11 players through injury and its task was made harder with another setback after just 27 minutes.
Liverpool picked up its first trophy of the season in dramatic fashion on Sunday as Virgil van Dijk headed in an extra-time winner in the Carabao Cup final. The Reds skipper had already been denied by VAR in normal time when he rose highest to meet Kostas Tsimikas’ corner.
Jürgen Klopp’s side managed to beat Chelsea despite being without 11 players through injury before losing Ryan Gravenberch in the first half. It meant Klopp had to turn to youth to see out the match with Bobby Clark, James McConnell and Jayden Danns all on the pitch for Van Dijk’s winner.
Speaking in his press conference after the match, Klopp said: “What we see here today is exceptional. We might never see it again. These things don’t happen in football. I got told there’s an English phrase – you don’t win trophies with kids. I didn’t know that.”
Liverpool has little time to recover from the Wembley final, with Southampton making the trip to Anfield in midweek for the fifth round of the FA Cup, before traveling to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday. Klopp will continue to be without most of those absent players although there is a chance that a couple of faces may provide a welcome boost by returning to the fold.
Here is the latest Liverpool injury news following Sunday’s dramatic extra-time victory. We start with the players who went off against Chelsea.
Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endō
Liverpool’s injury problems went from bad to worse in the 27th minute at Wembley when Gravenberch was caught on the ankle by a poor challenge from Moisés Caicedo that went unpunished. The Dutchman received treatment on the pitch before being taken off on a stretcher. He joined in the celebrations at full-time on crutches, wearing a protective boot and Klopp said at full-time: “I hope it’s not that bad. They did an X-ray, so it’s not broken but the ligaments got something and that’s how it is.”
Endō meanwhile delivered an excellent display at the base of the Reds midfield, playing the entire 120 minutes. He was also seen leaving Wembley on crutches with a protective boot but it is unclear at this stage if that was just precautionary. Return dates: Unknown.
Mohamed Salah and Darwin Núñez
It had been hoped that Salah and Núñez would be involved against Chelsea but neither player made the matchday squad. They both picked up knocks against Brentford last weekend and Liverpool was taking their progress ‘day by day’ last week. Both players were pictured in training kit on Friday but Klopp opted not to risk them. Salah and Núñez watched from the stands instead with the Uruguayan getting involved in the wild celebrations at full time. Return dates: Possibly Southampton in midweek or Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Trent Alexander-Arnold
Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders also revealed on Friday that Szoboszlai could still force his way into contention but the final ultimately came too soon. He was out for most of January before aggravating the hamstring problem on his return to the side. Szoboszlai was able to walk into Wembley unaided but teammate Alexander-Arnold arrived wearing a knee brace. The England international is now set to be out until after the international break. Return dates: Szoboszlai vs Southampton/Nottingham Forest while Alexander-Arnold will be out for longer.
Alisson Becker
The Liverpool goalkeeper would not have played at Wembley anyway with Caoimhín Kelleher keeping his place and the Irishman turned in a superb display. He will continue to deputize for Alisson for the next month, with the Reds’ No.1 out with a hamstring problem. Lijnders revealed on Friday that he would not be back in action until after the upcoming international break. Return date: End of March/start of April.
Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota
The Reds midfielder picked up an ankle injury at Brentford last weekend and Lijnders confirmed that he had suffered a ‘high ankle sprain’. He was tipped to be the first one back among the rest of the injury absentees but that is unlikely to be until during the international period. Jones was also seen on crutches as he joined his teammates at Wembley. Jota meanwhile suffered a medial ligament injury in the win over Brentford. Klopp later suggested he would be out for months but the Portuguese will hope to be back for the run-in. Return dates: Jones during international break, Jota out for fair bit longer.
Thiago Alcântara and Stefan Bajčetić
Liverpool midfielder Thiago suffered yet another injury on his first appearance of the season in the recent defeat to Arsenal. Klopp revealed after that match that he had a muscle issue, with the extent not yet known and there has been little update since. His midfield colleague Bajčetić has also had a stop-start campaign with injuries and it is unclear when he will be back in action. Return dates: Unknown.
Joël Matip and Ben Doak
It appears Matip has played his last game for Liverpool after suffering an ACL injury against Fulham last month. He is out of contract this summer although he did join his teammates at Wembley on Sunday and did enter the stadium unaided. Doak meanwhile underwent surgery at the end of last year on a knee problem and faces a race against time to return this season before the European Championships.. Return dates: Matip after end of season whil
e Doak could be slightly sooner.
