Liverpool could be missing as many as six first-team players for their upcoming clash against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
Both Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate picked up injuries during the 2-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Konate, who hobbled off in the second half, is expected to face an extended period on the sidelines after injuring his knee, dealing a significant blow to manager Arne Slot.
He wrote on Instagram: “So frustrating to pick up this injury right at the end of a great game on Wednesday night.
“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.”
Northern Ireland international Bradley, who was exceptional in neutralising Kylian Mbappe and proved a key attacking threat against the European champions, has suffered a suspected hamstring injury.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez are expected to replace him in the starting lineup for the upcoming clash against Pep Guardiola’s four-time Premier League champions.
Alexander-Arnold, however, has only just returned from a hamstring injury of his own.
The Reds have also recently welcomed back Harvey Elliott, who has been recovering from a fractured foot, although he has yet to play since August.
However, they will continue to be without several other players.
Federico Chiesa, who has been sidelined since September, has rejoined parts of the team’s training sessions but is yet to fully return to action, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Diogo Jota and Alisson Becker have also not made their comebacks after lengthy injuries.
Slot addressed the media at his latest pre-match press conference on Thursday, with Konate and Bradley being the main focus of discussion.
With Kostas Tsimikas also sidelined with an ankle injury, the Reds are left thin at the back, with Jarell Quansah the only senior option available in reserve.
Indeed, Liverpool’s current issues are so significant that manager Slot has more players ruled out (six) than both Pep Guardiola (five) and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta (three), whose injury concerns have been widely discussed.
“This happens through a season,” he acknowledged after losing Konate and Bradley midweek. “I am really hoping both of them are available to play because we want them all available, but if not someone else has to step up and until now this season everybody that I [have] selected to start has shown up.
“That’s also what is going to happen on Sunday, if they can play but also if they can’t play then other ones will step up.”
At his pre-City press conference, he added: “I think in general people only talk about injuries if the results are not there, so it’s a good thing that nobody talked about our injuries.
“That means that we got our results in. But the moment you start to lose, it’s about a kick-off time on a Saturday afternoon or it’s about injuries or we always come up with certain ideas why, especially me, we didn’t win. But nine out of 10 times it’s about the quality of the players from the other team or their game plan.
“We do have some very important players for us being injured but if the replacements do so well it’s normal that people don’t talk about it that much. It is true that missing Alisson, which has been a starter for this club and been so important for this club for so long, missing Diogo Jota [and] missing Trent in the last two games – those are players that have had impact a lot on the results in recent years.
“But it’s a good thing we don’t talk about it.”
Read more: Mohamed Salah warned ‘grass is not always greener’ by Liverpool legend
Virgil van Dijk opens up on Liverpool future
Ruben Amorim set to play Antony at wing-back at Manchester United
