Liverpool will continue to be without a string of absentees when they return to Premier League action against Bournemouth on January 21.
The Reds haven’t been in Premier League action since their 4-2 thrashing of Newcastle United on New Year’s Day, with FA Cup duties and a mid-season winter breaking occupying their weekends since.
Jurgen Klopp’s men will travel to the Vitality Stadium knowing they can extend their lead at the top of the Premier League significantly with Manchester City and Aston Villa not back in action until next weekend
However, they will continue to be without Dominik Szoboszlai, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kostas Tsimikas, as well as long-term absentees Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, Joel Matip and Ben Doak.
Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah will continue to be assessed by Egypt’s medical team after being withdrawn midway through Thursday night’s Africa Cup of Nations tie draw with Ghana.
The Reds forward was unchallenged when he signalled that he had suffered an apparent injury in his hamstring, with manager Rui Vitoria quickly substituting his captain in first-half stoppage time.
Speaking after the game, Vitoria said: “We don’t know yet what the problem is. I hope it’s not a big problem. It was difficult timing for us because in the second half we could only make two substitutions. I think it’s not dangerous but let’s see.”
Klopp, meanwhile, on Friday admitted that he had been in contact with Salah after the injury be insisted it was too soon to provide an update on the forward’s condition.
Dominik Szoboszlai
Dominik Szoboszlai has missed the last two matches after sustaining a hamstring injury in the 4-2 home win over Newcastle United on New Year’s Day. The Hungary midfielder, though, is back running.
And earlier this month he suggested he would soon be back in full training. “I am still running without a ball, but soon I will be able to carefully try training with a ball,” he told Nemzeti Sport after being crowned Hungarian Sportsman of The Year for the second time. “I am getting better.
“Yes, it’s possible (that I will return against Bournemouth), but we don’t want to rush anything. I’d rather miss one more match, if that’s what it takes, so that I don’t injure the previous strain and can play continuously.”
On Friday, though, Klopp confirmed that Sunday’s clash against Bournemouth would come too soon for Szobszlai, but did suggest that he could feature in next week’s League Cup semi-final second leg at Fulham
Expected return date: Fulham (A), Wednesday, January 24
Trent Alexander-Arnold
It came as a surprise earlier this month when assistant manager Pep Lijnders confirmed Trent Alexander-Arnold had become the club’s latest injury setback and would face a period on the sidelines after hyperextending his knee in the FA Cup win at Arsenal.
Providing an update on the full-back ahead of Sunday’s trip to the South Coast, Klopp confirmed Alexander-Arnold would be absent for this weekend’s Premier League. However, he revealed the 25-year-old could return to team training at the AXA Centre, which could put him in contention for next week’s cup ties against Fulham and Norwich.
