Liverpool manager has provided an update on the injury status of various members of his first-team squad, with some players who have been absent during set to be fit in time for the start of the Premier League season this weekend, while others will miss out.
The Reds won the Community Shield by beating 3-1 at ’s King Power Stadium on Saturday, with new signing Darwin Nunez earning his side a penalty and scoring the final goal, before they were beaten in a friendly against RSC Strasbourg at Anfield on Sunday evening.
The team Klopp selected for the clash with the Ligue 1 was young and inexperienced, with a majority of senior players rested in order to recuperate after picking up their first silverware of the campaign the previous day, but others were left out due to fitness issues.
Both Naby Keita and Curtis Jones were missing from the squad, and Klopp’s comments afterwards imply that the former will be ready to play against Fulham on Saturday as the Reds’ campaign kicks off at Craven Cottage, but the latter may not be fit in time.
‘Naby is ill and Curtis felt a little bit and we couldn’t take any risks,’ Klopp explained to after the 3-0 loss to Strasbourg. ‘All of a sudden the team was really young and we play [against] a really strong side.’
‘Naby is ill, so no [chance he will miss the Fulham match]. Curtis, we have to see. [There] was no impact or whatever, so that always makes it a bit, “My god, what could it be?” We had no time; he felt it and he wanted to play desperately, but then the medical department said no and that we needed to make further tests. We will do that [on Monday and then we will know more.’
Centre-back Ibrahima Konate went off during the game with a knock, meanwhile, but Klopp says that was a precautionary decision.
‘We don’t know exactly yet on Ibou, but it doesn’t look too concerning, so I hope we caught it in the right moment,’ he said.
Alisson Becker also missed both of the weekend’s matches after suffering an abdominal strain earlier in pre-season, but Klopp says his goalkeeper will ‘definitely’ be available for the start of league action.
‘Ali trained today more than the day before so he will be definitely available for Fulham, but not for the weekend.’
Diogo Jota’s hamstring injury ‘will take a while, unfortunately,’ according to Klopp, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has also suffered a ‘serious’ hamstring injury according to the club and is set to be on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
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