Liverpool Facing Familiar Problem After Mixed Injury Update

Saturday’s grudge match against Newcastle will not include Alexander Isak as its focal point.

Arne Slot’s got some more juggling to do | Shaun Brooks/CameraSport/Getty Images, Richard Martin-Robert/CameraSport/Getty Images, Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

Liverpool’s limited defensive depth will be tested once again when they welcome Newcastle United to Anfield on Saturday.

Right back Jeremie Frimpong lasted just four minutes last time out against Qarabağ and was initially feared to have suffered a significant injury. While Slot assured fans his problem was “not as bad” as expected, Frimpong is still going to need “a few weeks” on the sidelines.

There’s still no Joe Gomez, who is not far away from his own return, but Liverpool will welcome centre back Ibrahima Konaté back into the squad after the Frenchman was granted compassionate leave following the death of his father.

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The Ways Liverpool Can Combat Injury Crisis Against Newcastle

Jeremie Frimpong was Liverpool’s latest casualty. | Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images

Konaté’s return to the squad comes as a welcome boost to Slot, who previously lamented the need to play one of his defensive midfielders in his back line while Gomez, the only senior alternative available to Slot, joins Giovanni Leoni on the treatment table.

The Frenchman will reclaim his usual position alongside Virgil van Dijk in the heart of Slot’s defence, but the biggest problem comes out at right back.

Frimpong, signed as a replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold, is now out of action. His primary replacement, Conor Bradley, has a season-ending injury to deal with. Gomez would likely be next in line, but he, too, is unavailable.

It was defensive midfielder Wataru Endo who filled in for Frimpong against Qarabağ, and he remains an option to help cover. Dominik Szoboszlai was the preferred alternative earlier this season, but the Hungary international has been so impressive at the other end of the pitch that Slot may opt against holding him back this time around.

Slot could, in theory, look to the academy to find 22-year-old Calvin Ramsay, although he brutally dismissed the Scotland international in the wake of Bradley’s injury.

“When someone is really unlucky with injuries, there is always someone who benefits and Calvin is one of those. But I still think I have better options to play, but at the moment I am running out of options,” Slot said earlier this month.

“He has shown in that one game against Palace and when he trained with us that he is good enough to be in and around our players, then sometimes you have to wait for a chance to show this to the rest of the world, but at this moment I have, in my opinion, still better options.”

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Newfound Rivalry Once Again Misses Isak Factor

Alexander Isak’s Newcastle reunion will have to wait. | Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

Alexander Isak tanked his popularity in Newcastle during the summer when he went on strike to force through a move to Liverpool. That narrative was ongoing when the two sides last met in the Premier League back in August, when the Sweden international, then still a Newcastle player, was left out of the matchday squad.

A Premier League-record transfer to Anfield was ultimately forced through in the days that followed, and Newcastle fans would have been eagerly awaiting the chance to voice their frustrations from the stands when the fixture list offered up Saturday’s return fixture with Liverpool—until the towering striker broke his leg.

A timeline of “a few months” was put on Isak’s recovery in late December, and Slot has confirmed Saturday’s game will come way too soon for his return.

“He’s not even on the pitch yet,” Slot stressed. “He’s just out of his walker.

“So that tells you that he’s not on the pitch yet and not expected on the pitch today or tomorrow in terms of his recovery work. It’s going to take a while before he’s back—as we knew.”

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