In a stunning comeback against Brighton, Liverpool made it to the top of the table, but the Reds’ star defender Ibrahima Konate appears to have sustained an injury that is likely to prevent him from playing for a long time. At half-time, the Liverpool defender was taken off with a suspected shoulder injury after being helped by the medics
As of yet, the extent of the injury hasn’t been determined, but the news has left every Liverpool fan in a state of dread. Arne Slot has admitted it is too early to comment on Konate’s injury.
Speaking to the media after the match, Slot confirmed that Konate was still in the stadium and not on his way to the hospital. He is hoping that the defender recovers without a visit to the medical centre as it would not rule him out for the next few matches.
The manager said:
“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. 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.”
Joe Gomez came on as the replacement for Konate in the second half and Slot was delighted with the Englishman’s performance. He stated that the option of bringing on Jarell Quansah was also available and said:
“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 [on Wednesday] 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 [today], I felt I had to bring someone in that is fitter than Jarell was during the week.”
Reports suggest Konate has picked up a shoulder injury and could be on the sidelines for the next few games. The Reds face Leverkusen, Southampton, Real Madrid, Aston Villa and Manchester City in their next 5 games in all competitions.
Liverpool were 1-0 down when Konate was taken off, but the Reds managed to come back in the second half. Goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah helped the home side collect all three points and move back to the top of the table after Manchester City slipped up at AFC Bournemouth.