Liverpool injury news: The Reds were back in training earlier following the international break, with a big injury boost supplied before the derby against Everton.
Liverpool will resume its 2023/24 Premier League campaign with a Merseyside derby.
Although Jürgen Klopp’s pre-match press conference will provide some clues, at this point there are a lot of question marks over which members of the squad will be available to start the clash with Everton.
Diogo Jota will return from the suspension he earned at Tottenham, though Curtis Jones must sit out this game and also the fixture against Nottingham Forest following his red card in north London.
Where Liverpool stands with regards to its South American contingent is far less clear.
For a clue, we can look back to the 3-1 victory at Wolves, another lunchtime kick-off which immediately followed an international break.
Darwin Núñez and Luis Díaz began that match on the bench, while Alexis Mac Allister started but had to be withdrawn at half-time after struggling.
Klopp may wish to hold this trio back for substitute roles on Saturday. However, with injury issues in the squad, his hand may be forced otherwise, and he perhaps dropped a hint with all three back in training earlier on Thursday. Let’s run through the latest injury news to see who is likely to be available for the visit of the Blues.
Having scored for the 10 men at Tottenham, Cody Gakpo was withdrawn with what initially looked to be a serious knee injury. It was therefore great to see him training with his teammates less than three weeks later.
If he is not fit enough to start the derby, as seems likely, the Netherlands international might be a useful option from the bench. Gakpo scored the first goal of his Liverpool career in the corresponding fixture last season.
There seems little chance of Andy Robertson being involved this weekend, even though the full extent of the injury he suffered on international duty has yet to be confirmed.
The picture which flew round social media of the Scotland captain with his arm in a sling was evidence enough that he will probably be out for a while.
It presents an opportunity for Kostas Tsimikas, who delivered a glorious, crossed assist for Greece last week. Or will Klopp turn to Joe Gomez instead? He started his Liverpool career at left-back and has played there under the German, albeit not for five years. Either way, it won’t be Robertson tearing up the left flank in the derby.
Someone who was shown training on Thursday was Caoimhín Kelleher. The reserve goalkeeper was desperately unfortunate to pick up a knee problem which prevented him from facing Union SG.
While the Irishman was never likely to start the derby, he will have an eye on returning for the visit of Toulouse next Thursday. Fingers Kelleher will be able to reclaim his spot as Liverpool’s cup goalkeeper.
It’s now eight months since Thiago Alcântara last started a match for Liverpool, and almost six since he last made an appearance of any kind.
Having undergone surgery on his hip towards the end of last season, the midfielder has been spotted in training on occasion, but has so far been unable to make a full recovery.
The 32-year-old suffered a setback earlier this month and is not expected back until November at the earliest.
Stefan Bajčetić may prove to be the holding midfielder Liverpool needs, but he won’t be so this weekend. Having had his 2022/23 campaign cut short by injury, the Spanish under-21 international had made appearances against LASK — when he played as a makeshift right-back in the hybrid role — and Leicester recently.
A “little, little, little, little, tiny calf issue” (according to Klopp) returned him to the treatment room, though, and he was not pictured in training on Thursday.
No timeline has yet been given for a return, although it’s probably safe to assume he won’t return in time for the midweek Europa League fixture.