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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp faces a defensive crisis after improvised center-back Fabinho limped with a hamstring injury in the first half against Midtjylland on Tuesday night.
The Brazilian, who was replacing in center defense alongside Joe Gomez following Virgil van Dijk’s ACL injury, retired after 27 minutes as he ran towards his own goal.
The concern among Liverpool players on the field was immediately palpable and Fabinho limped out, replaced by 19-year-old Rhys Williams.
Since Joel Matip is also not in shape, he leaves Gomez as the only senior option in Klopp’s form in central defense.
Coach Jurgen Klopp said after the match: ‘Exactly the last thing we needed! I don’t know … I know he felt a hamstring and that’s not good.
‘[He] I didn’t feel it much [he] He said he could have kept playing, but no longer sprints, which obviously doesn’t help in that position.
“We will see, a scan and we will know more, but of course, it is not good.”
When asked after the game how long he expects the Brazilian to be out, Klopp said: ‘I don’t know. You know, muscle injuries are like this: you get the result, but probably tomorrow morning. So we have to wait for that. ‘
Speaking to BT Sport at halftime, former Liverpool forward Peter Crouch admitted the injury was a “big blow” to Klopp and his team.
“Yeah this is huge, Fabinho has been a fantastic replacement, he looks like a hamstring,” Crouch said.
“Really disappointing, a big blow for Liverpool, you just hope to God it’s not long term.”
Former Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana, who left the club in the summer for Brighton, added: ‘Typical, it happens when a big central half is missing and then another like that.
‘Hopefully it will be less and it will be another test for the group and I think the young [Williams] He has done well entering, from the bench. ‘
The cause for concern with Fabinho follows Van Dijk’s injury in the Merseyside Derby against Everton, after he was beaten by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
The Dutchman is in need of knee surgery and after Dejan Lovren was sold to Zenit St Petersburg in the summer, Klopp now falls short in central defense before the game against West Ham on Saturday.
With Matip’s fitness issues making him a doubt for Saturday’s home clash with West Ham, according to Klopp, youngsters Rhys Williams, Nathaniel Phillips and Billy Koumetio have suddenly faced a serious initial feud for the former. team.
Speaking about Williams, Tuesday’s backup, Klopp added: ‘He did really well.
“ The only problem we have now is that we have four days to go to the West Ham game and every day you will do a story about him and then he has to show that he can deal with that too, because the vibe was calm around him.
‘We have very young and inexperienced alternatives, and for now it seems that we have to choose one of them.
“I don’t know yet, but to be really clear and positive, Rhys wasn’t in a situation tonight, our problem, he played a really good game.”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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