Jurgen Klopp has revealed Joel Matip took a knock in Liverpool’s 1-0 win at Sheffield United, which rules him out for Wednesday’s clash with Salzburg.
Salzburg arrive at Anfield in midweek for the second week of the Champions League group stage, with a 6-2 victory over Genk fuelling them against the European champions.
Both sides were victorious at the weekend, with the Reds’ trip to Bramall Lane proving a difficult task as they held on for the three points and, for this campaign, a rare clean sheet.
Instrumental in that, again, was Matip, who along with Virgil van Dijk, Adrian and Fabinho was one of the top performers against the Blades, but it seemingly came at a cost.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Klopp confirmed that the 28-year-old had suffered a knock which would keep him out at Anfield.
“With Joel it’s not a big one, but it’s big enough that he’s not available for tomorrow night,” he explained.
“We don’t want to take any risks and we don’t have to take any risks, that’s why he will not be involved.”
Given the strength in depth at centre-back, and the upcoming clash with Leicester in the Premier League, it is sensible to leave Matip out against Salzburg.
This would provide a big opportunity for Joe Gomez, who spoke of his frustration at a lack of game time after his outing against MK Dons in the League Cup, which was his first start since mid-August.
Elsewhere, Klopp provided an overall update on the fitness of his squad to the club’s official website, saying “everybody should be fine” bar Matip, Alisson and Xherdan Shaqiri, who remain out.
But the manager was positive on the progress of Alisson, who was not part of full training on Monday but “is very close” to making his comeback.
“Shaq I don’t know 100 percent [when he will be back], we will see,” he added in his press conference.
“He will not be ready for tomorrow but I don’t know exactly how it looks in the moment, because he’s still in the hands of the medical department.”
Speaking in his pre-Salzburg press conference, Klopp said on Alisson‘s return: “The United game, probably, 100 percent.”
Liverpool travel to Old Trafford after the international break (October 20).
Klopp is unlikely to make many changes from the clash in Sheffield, with Gomez the most likely to come in, and options in midfield allowing rotation if desired.
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