Jurgen Klopp concedes, if he had his time again, he'd rest Fabinho on Tuesday night with the Liverpool star facing a race against time to be fit for the FA Cup final.
The Reds came from behind to win at Aston Villa, going back level on points with Manchester City to keep the pressure on their rivals. Their success came at a cost though as the Brazilian was forced off after half an hour with a muscle issue - putting his weekend involvement in doubt.
Fabinho started in midfield with the likes of Jordan Henderson and Thiago both on the bench. The club's skipper came on as a replacement but Klopp is now waiting to find out whether the Brazilian will be available for selection at Wembley this weekend against Chelsea.
He said: “I don’t know. He felt a muscle, not too much. It was not the thigh, but the other side (hamstring). He is quite positive but I’m not sure what I can take of that, to be honest. We will see. I can’t say when he’ll be ready. Nobody has an answer for that.
"He has a good feeling and that gives me a better feeling than I had when I took him off. If you ask me now, I’d say leave Fabinho out (for this game) but I can’t turn that back. He was completely fine before the game.” Fabinho's issue was the only downer from the night at Villa Park.
Andy Robertson was left out with Konstantinos Tsimikas coming in, but the Scot's absence was simply to give him some time off. Klopp added: “The rest came through without too many problems. Robbo wasn’t in the squad because I wanted to give him a rest at home and brought another striker into the squad if we needed. That’s it. Apart from that, we should be fine.”
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Klopp will still have a host of midfield options to pick from even if Fabinho fails to recover in time for the weekend. The clash at Wembley presents the Reds with the chance to add a second piece of silverware this term, following their Carabao Cup success, which also came against Chelsea.
The quadruple remains a possibility but they are now reliant on City losing one of their remaining three games, and even then Pep Guardiola's side may hold a goal difference advantage would could prove crucial. Liverpool's other remaining trophy hope is the Champions League.
They will face Real Madrid in the final in Paris later this month. Klopp's side won the competition in 2019 and are hoping to, once again, claim European glory in what has been a sensational season.
