The Liverpool head coach talked up Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah ahead of a potential return against Manchester City on Sunday
Arne Slot insists Liverpool have two ‘very good’ replacements for Ibrahima Konate, with the France international expected to miss Sunday’s clash with Man City. The centre-back has been one of the Reds’ star performers so far this season.
However, he suffered a knee injury late on in Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Real Madrid in midweek and is set for an extended period on the sidelines as a result.
Konate took to social media on Friday night to confirm his lay-off, posting: “So frustrating to pick up this injury right at the end of a great game on Wednesday night.
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“Now we start the recovery process but one thing I promise is I will come back and be the best I can be once again. Thank you for the amazing support at Anfield. Inshallah we will keep going and I will support the team every step of the way.”
Slot will have to choose between Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah to replace the Frenchman alongside Virgil van Dijk.
The latter started the season alongside the Dutchman away at Ipswich Town, only to be replaced by Konate at half-time. The 21-year-old has since started twice in the League Cup and came on as a late substitute in the 4-0 thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen at the start of November.
Gomez’s only two starts of the campaign to date have come alongside Quansah in the League Cup, but he has made a further six substitute appearances. This includes an impeccable performance after coming on at half-time in place of the injured Konate in Liverpool’s victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.
The England international is expected to get the nod alongside Van Dijk as a result, months on from nearly Anfield in the summer. The Reds’ longest-serving player at Anfield, a deal had been agreed for the defender to join Newcastle United as part of a deal that would have seen Anthony Gordon move the other way.
While such a swoop collapsed, speculation about Gomez’s future continued until the transfer window closed. This was fuelled further by the defender being left back on Merseyside for Liverpool’s opening day trip to Ipswich.
However, Slot has disputed that Gomez’s absence was anything to do with his uncertain future at the club and instead was because of a pre-season injury.
And with both the centre-back and Quansah available at his disposal during Konate’s lay-off, the Dutchman is confident that Liverpool will once again cope with another enforced absence.
“The reason he (Gomez) was not in the squad at the start of the season had nothing to do with him leaving the club,” Slot revealed. “It was to do with him being injured in pre-season and not being available to the squad.
“But he was a fantastic replacement for Ibou in the Brighton game, while Jarell (Quansah) is also doing well. If Ibou is not able to play, we have two very good replacements for him.
“Of course we are hoping Ibou is available but if he isn’t we have to adapt like we have done already this season when Diogo (Jota), Alisson and Trent (Alexander-Arnold) were out. That is part of every season, that you also have injuries.”
