Liverpool could be without as many as six first-team players to face Manchester United as Alexis Mac Allister, Joel Matip and Diogo Jota remain sidelined
Before Liverpool’s match against Manchester United, there are no fresh injury concerns. However, Joel Matip, a defender, will need time to heal, so manager Jurgen Klopp will be missing at least six players.
Jurgen Klopp made nine changes from the team that defeated Crystal Palace last Saturday, giving the Reds nearly complete control over their final Europa League group stage match against Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday.
The German head coach gave several of the Kirkby Academy grads opportunity for the dead-rubber at Lotto Park while leaving out Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah from the team that travelled to Brussels this week.
Together with Jarell Quansah, Ibrahima Konate was one of the older players included in the starting 11 for Liverpool. He played 45 minutes at the back. With Cody Gakpo heading the line, Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott were also given starts, along with Curtis Jones, who led the Reds against the Belgian league leaders.
The Reds attempted to win, offering runouts to Ryan Gravenberch and Darwin Nunez, but they were unable to overcome the gap, allowing Union SG to record a historic 2-1 victory.
Liverpool seems to come out of it unhurt, and Klopp will have options besides the returning casualties and long-term ailments. This was due to the chance to rest a lot of first-team players. Defender Matip was substituted during the 4-3 victory over Fulham in early December, and he underwent successful surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Stefan Bajcetic is still a long-term absentee, but seeing Thiago Alcantara in photos at the AXA Training Centre, where he posed with Salah to celebrate his most recent milestone, was encouraging. The Spanish midfielder’s last Reds game was against West Ham in April. He hasn’t played for the team yet this season.
Last week, Klopp expressed his delight about the 32-year-old’s potential comeback to first-team training. “It’s an ongoing thing,” he stated.
We also can’t put any pressure on him there, but we anticipate his return sometime in the new year. Since November has already arrived, which translates to an additional four weeks, I think it would be reasonable to attempt that.
“To be honest, we are eager for him to return. The player is simply outstanding. I appreciate your inquiry, however at this time we are unable to provide a week-by-week update as things are not going to alter significantly.”
Andy Robertson is also getting closer, hoping to make a comeback from a shoulder injury in the New Year. The Scotland captain hasn’t played since the 2-2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in October due to surgery for an injury sustained while serving with the Tartan Army internationally.
Diogo Jota and Alexis Mac Allister are still in the Liverpool treatment room. Jota was substituted out of the 1-1 tie with Manchester City before the hour mark, but it seems too early to use him in the match against Manchester United.
Due to his ongoing recuperation following a hard tackle he sustained during the team’s victory over Sheffield United one week ago, Mac Allister will be absent from Erik ten Hag’s visit.
Although I am clearly not a doctor, they have always explained to me why he isn’t ready and that the situation is trickier than we initially anticipated,” Klopp stated on Wednesday.
The other boy then trod on his knee and the stud—the part beneath the boot—which penetrated the muscle almost all the way to the bone. Therefore, we must now wait for the bone to mend and for Macca to be able to handle the discomfort.
Although Macca is a tough guy and it hurts a lot, it’s crucial that we make sure there is no infection and nothing bad happens. Hence, it was a truly…This is the first injury one of my players has ever sustained.
“But now we have it and I hope it will not take that long to heal but I would like to say to it is day by day and it looks like he could be ready for the next game but they say he will not be ready for that as well, so I hope the next three or four days he makes big steps and we will see.”