Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez face a race against the clock to be fit for Sunday’s League Cup final against Chelsea.
Jurgen Klopp admitted Liverpool will have to monitor the fitness of Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez “day by day” ahead of Sunday’s League Cup final against Chelsea.
The forward duo, who have scored 32 goals for the Reds across all competitions this term, sat out of Wednesday’s 4-1 thrashing over Luton Town at Anfield, casting doubt over whether they will be fit for this weekend’s showpiece final against the Londoners.
Should the pair fail to prove their fitness ahead of Sunday’s venture to the capital, they will join Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Alcantara, Diogo Jota, Joel Matip, Alisson Becker, Curtis Jones, Stefan Bajcetic and Ben Doak on the sidelines. And ahead of Sunday’s final, here’s the latest injury update from Anfield.
Mohamed Salah
As it stands, Salah’s involvement in Sunday’s League Cup final is touch-and-go after the forward suffered an injury setback after making his return against Brentford last weekend.
The Egyptian had missed Liverpool’s last eight games across all competitions prior to his return in West London, but Klopp revealed the forward will be assessed daily ahead of the final.
Speaking after Wednesday’s 4-1 over Luton Town, which Salah was absent from, Klopp said: “The situation is not great, absolutely not, we don’t have to make that now nicer than it is. I’m so happy that all the kids came on and played, Dannsy [Jayden Danns] said 50 times, ‘Thank you, boss!’ I’m so happy that I could give him that opportunity, the boys deserve it.
“But obviously for us there are now a lot of super-important games coming up, and we don’t know, we go day by day. I cannot say anything about it and I don’t know. But after Brentford, I had no clue the situation would be like it was now. So, let’s see. There’s one phrase that stands: as long as we have 11, we will go for it. That’s all I can promise.”
Expected return date: Sunday/Wednesday.
Darwin Nunez
Like Salah, Nunez sat out of Wednesday’s Premier League victory at Anfield and will be assessed before Sunday’s League Cup final.
Providing an update on the forward on Wednesday, Klopp said: “The situation is not great, absolutely not, we don’t have to make that now nicer than it is. I’m so happy that all the kids came on and played, Dannsy [Jayden Danns] said 50 times, ‘Thank you, boss!’ I’m so happy that I could give him that opportunity, the boys deserve it.
“But obviously for us there are now a lot of super-important games coming up, and we don’t know, we go day by day. I cannot say anything about it and I don’t know. But after Brentford, I had no clue the situation would be like it was now. So, let’s see. There’s one phrase that stands: as long as we have 11, we will go for it. That’s all I can promise.”
Expected return date: Sunday/Wednesday.
Diogo Jota
Diogo Jota will be unavailable for selection for several months after sustaining a knee injury at Brentford on Saturday.
The Portugal international left the field on a stretcher after Christian Norgaard landed awkwardly on the knee of the forward towards the end of the first.
Providing an update on the condition of Jota earlier this week, Klopp said: “With Diogo, it will obviously take months. I couldn’t give you a timeframe even if I wanted to, so that’s just how it is.’”
Expected return date: Mid-April.
Curtis Jones
Like Jota, Jones is yet to learn the full extent of the ankle injury he suffered during the first half of last weekend’s thrashing of Brentford.
The Reds’ No.17 left the stadium on crutches and will face a race against the clock to prove his fitness for the Carabao Cup final.
Expected return date: Several weeks
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold missed Liverpool’s wins over Brentford and Luton Town with a knee injury. The right-back suffered discomfort in his knee against Burnley earlier this month and was substituted at half-time.
The Reds vice-captain now faces a spell on the sidelines and has already been ruled out of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea next Sunday.
Expected return date: Early March.
Alisson Becker
Alisson missed Liverpool’s win over Brentford or Luton after succumbing to a hamstring injury. The goalkeeper has now missed the Reds’ three matches.
“Ali was ill last week and injured this week,” said Klopp on February 17. “No other ideas behind it (starting Caoimhin Kelleher). If he hadn’t been ill and hadn’t been injured now, Ali would have played.
“We will see how long Ali is out but Caoimhin is exceptional and today it was an A+ performance.”
Expected return date: March.
Dominik Szoboszlai
Szoboszlai has missed Liverpool’s last four Premier League matches with a hamstring injury. The Hungary international first suffered the injury on New Year’s Day against Newcastle.
Szoboszlai made his return against Chelsea on January 31 but has now missed the games against Arsenal, Burnley and Brentford through injury. The midfielder remains a doubt for the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea next Sunday.
Expected return date: Next week.
Thiago Alcantara
Thiago suffered a hamstring injury during his cameo appearance against Arsenal on February 4. The midfielder had not played for the Reds for nine months before his substitute appearance at the Emirates Stadium.
No timeframe has been placed on when Liverpool expect the Spaniard to return. Klopp, though, has previously admitted that he is hopeful that the midfielder will return to the matchday squad before the end of the season.
Expected return date: Unknown.
Stefan Bajcetic
Stefan Bajcetic has endured a frustrating period in his fledgling Anfield career after a number of injury problems. He enjoyed a strong debut campaign last season but saw it end prematurely after suffering a stress response in his adductor in March.
Bajcetic returned in September with outings in the Carabao Cup and Europa League but his involvement against LASK Linz proved to be his last after suffering a calf issue. It remains unclear when he will return to full training,.
Expected return date: Unknown.
