Jurgen Klopp has discussed the “painful” shoulder injury Darwin Nunez suffered in victory over Newcastle, but gave no indication of its severity.
Nunez came off worse in a clash with Kieran Trippier midway through the second half as the Reds earned a 2-0 win at Newcastle, eventually forcing him off.
It came after the Uruguayan opened the scoring at St James’ Park, and adds concern to the buildup of Tuesday’s visit of Real Madrid.
The hope will be that Nunez can recover swiftly and start that Champions League tie, but Klopp was unsure as he spoke on the injury in his post-match press conference.
“Darwin has something on his shoulder, we will see,” he told reporters.
“In that situation, I don’t know why [the referee] whistled there against him, to be honest.
“But in the end he had to go off with a shoulder issue. We need further assessments. I don’t know in the moment.
“In the moment it’s painful. Hopefully, it’s just painful and not more.”
With only three days until the last-16 opener, it seems there is a strong chance that Nunez will not be passed fit to start, which gives Klopp a decision to make.
Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino both came off the bench again at St James’ Park, but the pair were understandably rusty after long-term injuries of their own.
Jota could have scored twice while Firmino had a chance to touch in the Portuguese’s header at the back post, with the positive being that they were in those positions in the first place.
Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah will keep their places in midweek, with Harvey Elliott the other option on the left wing.
It is highly unlikely Fabio Carvalho is called in after being omitted entirely for two games in a row.
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