Darwin Nunez was in attendance at the King Power Stadium as Liverpool beat Leicester 3-0, but the Uruguayan wasn’t able to play any part.
It was a surprise when Nunez wasn’t named in the Liverpool squad on Monday night, but Jurgen Klopp has explained why his striker was absent.
Klopp said: “Yesterday [Sunday] we trained and he looked OK, and then after training he said he feels something in his foot, in his big toe.
“So then we had to make a decision because we are two hours, 45 minutes away from Liverpool and we had to make a decision yesterday about the squad, and we did that, so he was not involved.
“He is now here, I saw him, he wants to support the team but was not available.”
As Klopp suggested, Nunez was on the sidelines supporting his teammates, and he was pictured next to Roberto Firmino, both smiling as they took in the away supporters’ incredible singing tribute to the departing Brazilian.
Both Nunez and Firmino will hope to play before the season is out.
When asked whether the Uruguayan would miss the final two matches, Klopp said: “No, I don’t think so.
“The session didn’t look like that but, after the session, he felt it more than before and so we have to assess that in more detail.”
With the return of Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota on the left, as well as Cody Gakpo‘s continued improvement through the middle, starts have been in short supply for Nunez of late.
However, he has still been influencing games from the bench, featuring in each of the last 13 matches before the trip to Leicester.
With the forward still learning English and adapting to a Klopp’s style, a proper pre-season should do him a world of good.
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