As the EFL Cup final approaches, Liverpool will keep an eye on Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah, and Dominik Szoboszlai to see how they are feeling.
On Wednesday, Liverpool beat Luton Town without Nunez and Salah. Meanwhile, Szoboszlai hasn’t played a game this month because of his hamstring injury.
In light of this, all eyes will be on them as they prepare to face Chelsea in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final at Wembley. Though Jurgen Klopp’s pre-Luton report was discouraging, it did the trick.
With only two days to go before their next encounter, the Reds’ assistant manager Pep Lijnders took it upon himself to provide an update. He discussed the injured trio and the team’s prospects of making it to the final.
“Two training sessions to go, let’s see how they are and then we can make a decision in the last minute. And all the others, we know it’s longer. Ali has a muscle injury. Trent, LCL. Jota, medial ligament, MCL. Curtis [has] a high ankle sprain. They will be longer out.
“Curtis is probably the first one [to come back] around the international break. All the others will be after the international break.”
What did Liverpool say about Salah, Nunez and Szoboszlai?
Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones, Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Chelsea will not be playing at Wembley Stadium. In response to the question of whether they suffered any injuries against Luton, Lijnders said: “So far I know not.
“All the boys had a day off yesterday but for us, a day off means that they come in and they have treatment and, of course, we have to prepare for the final.”
“But for the boys, it’s proper recovery, so they all feel the necessity to use [it] in these moments where you play every three days and where certain boys have to play more because of the injuries.
“So, they are treating their body well, they are trying everything to be fresh, to be fit. But you know with our style, how we play, it’s important. You have to respect the recovery as much as you respect the performance.”
Injury crisis not stopping at Anfield
Due to an exhausting schedule of games, Liverpool lost 11 players to injury before their match against Luton. Cody Gakpo, Harvey Elliott, and Luis Diaz were the only forwards to suit up on Wednesday. However, they all got a confidence boost at the perfect moment, netting one each.
In addition to long-term absentees Ben Doak, Stefan Bajcetic, Joel Matip, Alisson, Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones, and Diogo Jota have only lately joined them. The Reds assistant proposed a comeback for the latter three “after the international break.”
However, it is not ideal given the upcoming massive matchups in all tournaments. Just over a month ago, Liverpool trashed Chelsea 4-1 in a Premier League match. But the Blues have evolved since then, so Lijnders is cautious about them.
Despite Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea’s poor start to the Premier League reign, the Blues held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw last week. It only benefited Liverpool’s championship hopes.
PHOTOS: IMAGO.
