Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled out for two weeks with an ankle injury, while fellow defender Joel Matip is out for up to three weeks because of a calf problem.
Injuries have given Liverpool a bit of a nightmare start to the season, with Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara both having spells on the sidelines earlier in the campaign.
Andrew Robertson has also missed games and is not yet back in action, while Luis Diaz will miss the next ten games and Arthur Melo is out until January or February. Ibrahima Konate is only jut back from a knee injury and the timing of his return could be crucial for Liverpool.
Alexander-Arnold was withdrawn at half-time in Sunday’s defeat at Arsenal and The Athletic has reported a two-week absence is to be expected. The same report adds a time-frame of two to three weeks for Matip, who had to come off in the second half at the Emirates Stadium.
Konate got his first minutes of the season when he replaced Matip with around a quarter of the game to play. The Frenchman had missed ten games in all competitions before returning to the bench as an unused substitute in the Champions League last week.
The expectation is that Konate will now start against Rangers on Wednesday, with Joe Gomez likely to start at right-back in a new-look back four for Jurgen Klopp. Gomez hasn’t started since an awful first half display against Napoli in the Champions League a month ago.
Losing Alexander-Arnold and Matip at this moment is a significant blow for Liverpool with only five days until the Premier League clash with Manchester City next weekend.
Credit: 90min.com
