Arne Slot has provided the latest injury update on Ibrahima Konate after the defender was forced off the pitch after sustaining an injury during the Reds’ home match against Brighton on Saturday.
The French international started the game but had a challenging outing.
He suffered a heavy fall in the penalty area during the first half and was subsequently substituted at halftime.
As he left the pitch, Ibrahima Konate received treatment from the medical staff, with his arm tucked into his shirt as a makeshift sling.
Asked about the injury, Slot told his post-match press conference: “We don’t know yet.
“He had a lot of pain, but he hasn’t been to the hospital yet – and maybe it is not even necessary to go to the hospital, I don’t know.
“It is always difficult to judge an injury in the first hour or first 10 minutes after it happens.
“Let’s hope he can be with us as soon as possible because he had a big impact on our season until now.
“But Joe deserved the trust I gave him today because he played outstanding in the second half.”
The boss added: “It was not only the first half that was a big disappointment, there was also the disappointment that [Konate] had to go off because he has been really good for us the whole season.
“The good thing is in that position I have two very good options as well with Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez.
“I took Jarell off five minutes before the end in Brighton because for 20 minutes he was already stretching and I could feel and see that he was tired, which is not so strange because he hasn’t played that much.
“Then, with 45 minutes to go, I felt I had to bring someone in that is fitter than Jarell was during the week.”
This injury compounds the troubles for Slot, who is already without key players Alisson, Harvey Elliott, Diogo Jota, and Federico Chiesa.
Konate has made over 100 appearances for Liverpool since joining from German giants RB Leipzig and has been a near-constant presence under the new head coach.
Liverpool found themselves trailing 1-0 against Brighton after Ferdi Kadioglu opened the scoring for the visitors.
However, Cody Gakpo equalized midway through the second half, and Mohamed Salah put the Reds ahead, leaving them at the top of the Premier League table.
Should Konate fail to recover in time for the upcoming Champions League fixture, Slot will face some difficult decisions regarding his lineup.
Gomez, who replaced Konate at halftime, and academy graduate Jarell Quansah are also available as a backup.
Although Quansah has seen limited playing time this season, with just one Premier League appearance to his name, which came on the opening day against Ipswich Town.
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