Joe Gomez is the latest Liverpool defender on the absentee list, with the centre-back suffering a “serious” injury during training with the England squad on Wednesday.
The Reds have endured a nightmare run of injuries this season, and none more so than in defence, with Virgil van Dijk out for the season and both Fabinho and Trent Alexander-Arnold currently sidelined.
Joel Matip has only just returned to action, with his time out forcing Jurgen Klopp to turn to academy defenders Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams.
Gomez was the one constant, partnering Fabinho, Matip, Phillips and Williams and earning plaudits for his ability to adapt and, crucially, to step up in Van Dijk’s absence.
Now it seems Liverpool could be without their No. 12 for a period, too, with it emerging on Wednesday afternoon that Gomez had suffered an injury in England training.
It remains to be seen the extent of Gomez’s injury, with Gareth Southgate to provide further detail at his press conference at 6.30pm (GMT), but the Mail‘s Sami Mokbel has described it as “serious” and the Mirror‘s John Cross “significant.”
“There are major concerns it could be a lengthy layoff,” Cross claims, though it should be stressed that this could be mere sensationalism given Liverpool’s ongoing plight.
The Telegraph‘s Matt Law writes: “It is understood that Gomez is concerned that the injury, the specific nature of which is not yet known, is bad and that he could be out for some time.”
It is speculated that the 23-year-old will miss England’s clashes with the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Iceland, and possibly further games for the Reds, too.
Any period out will be a major blow for Liverpool, with Matip left as the only fit senior centre-back and likely to be partnered by Fabinho on his return from a hamstring problem.
Klopp is now likely to look to the transfer market in January, with a new centre-back certainly a priority in a season marred by injuries.
That international fixtures are going ahead in a global pandemic is negligent to say the least, but even more so as players are already overstretched due to the demands of a shortened domestic calendar.
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