'I don't know': Klopp provides worrying injury update on £25m Liverpool player – originally posted on Sportslens.com
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he is not sure when Thiago Alcantara will return to first-team training.
The Spaniard – who joined Liverpool during the summer transfer window for a reported fee of £25m – hasn’t featured for the Reds since the 2-2 Merseyside derby draw with Everton last month.
While it was expected that he would recover during the international break, it seems he could still be out for a while.
Klopp has confirmed that the former Barcelona midfielder is yet to return to first-team training and that his injury was more serious than it had been initially suspected.
“Thiago is not in team training yet. When will he be in team training? I don’t know. We will see,” the Reds boss said, as quoted by The Mirror.
“I’m as surprised as the public. In the morning I come in, we have a medical meeting and they tell me ‘yes he is in, he is not’.
“I know it’s not too far any more [for Thiago], but I have no idea.”
Liverpool’s injury woes continue
The Reds will face Italian outfit, Atalanta, on Wednesday at Anfield in the Champions League, and Thiago is almost expected to be ruled out.
The bad luck with injuries continues for the Reds as Naby Keita becomes the latest player to book his place at the treatment table.
Keita – who only recently returned to full fitness after a long injury lay-off – started against Leicester and picked up a hamstring injury in the 54th minute. He is definitely out for the Champions League clash and is likely to miss the Premier League game against Brighton on Saturday as well.
Skipper Jordan Henderson picked up a groin injury whilst on international duty and missed the game against the Foxes. Xherdan Shaqiri was also absent from the playing squad against Leicester, with Klopp revealing the Swiss midfielder picked up a muscle injury during the international break.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has returned to first-team training but he is still short of match fitness. He could get some minutes from the bench, but Klopp probably will not take the risk of starting him straightaway.
In defence, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are long term absentees, while Trent Alexander-Arnold is still out with a calf injury.
It remains to be seen how Liverpool shape up against Atalanta especially with Mohamed Salah set to return after he has tested negative for coronavirus. With Roberto Firmino showing signs of returning to his best form, Klopp could be tempted to use the 4-2-4 system once again that he deployed against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium earlier this month.
From Sportslens.com – Football News | Football Blog
