Liverpool's preparations for the Carabao Cup final are becoming worrisome as Jurgen Klopp's side have now lost multiple stars to injury.
The Reds could reportedly be without nine first-team players for Sunday's final against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium. Before facing Chelsea, Klopp will need to oversee a home Premier League clash with Luton Town on Wednesday.
The current injury crisis at Liverpool threatens to potentially derail Klopp's final months in charge at Anfield, as the club are still actively competing for four trophies.
Despite Liverpool beating Brentford 4-1 on Saturday and maintaining the club's lead at the top of the table, Klopp would have come away from the Gtech Community Stadium concerned as Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez all had to be substituted after sustaining injuries.
Jota appears to be facing the longest setback as a serious injury to his left knee caused him to be stretchered off during the first half of Saturday's game. The Portuguese forward faces a spell on the sidelines and may only be able to return to action in April, according to reports in his homeland.
Jota's injury is a massive shame for the player as he had been in good form lately. He netted six goals in ten appearances across all competitions prior to starting against Brentford whilst he recently picked up the Premier League Player of the Month award for January.
Jones went off after injuring the area just above his ankle and he had to leave the game on crutches. Nunez' injury is unspecified as of now but his exit against Brentford was precautionary as he felt some sort of discomfort in his body, meaning he should not be out for a significant period.
A day prior to facing Brentford in the Premier League, Liverpool lost goalkeeper, Allison Becker, after he picked up a muscle injury in training. In addition, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai are currently unavailable due to suffering knee and thigh injuries, respectively.
Alexander-Arnold is ruled out of the Carabao Cup final after he aggravated a knee problem just over a week ago in Liverpool's 3-1 win over Burnley. The first occurrence of the knee injury had previously kept the right back out of action for the majority of January.
Other players unavailable to Klopp at this moment include Joel Matip, Thiago and Stefan Bajcetic.
Klopp admits that the current injury crisis at Liverpool is a concern, but he is determined to fight through it. The 56-year-old said: "We have problems, we don't know how big they are. As long as we have eleven players, we will go for it."
A positive for Klopp on the injury front is the return of Mohamed Salah, as the forward returned against Brentford after he previously picked up a hamstring injury whilst representing Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
Salah wasted little time in getting back to his regular self against Brentford as he scored and picked up an assist after coming on to replace the injured Jota.
Klopp will be frustrated that he will not have all of his players for this upcoming crucial period in Liverpool's season as it means there will be less rotation from game to game.
Beyond the upcoming Carabao Cup final, Liverpool still have the FA Cup and UEFA Europa League to contest, whilst big Premier League matches await in March against Manchester City and local rivals, Everton.
Keeping players fresh is pivotal for teams that are competing in multiple competitions and if Liverpool's current injury crisis does not get better, Klopp may reach a stage where he has to prioritise certain competitions.
Sunday's Carabao Cup final will be the first chance for Liverpool to ensure Klopp leaves with some silverware before leaving the club. Despite having a depleted squad, Liverpool will feel confident about its chances against Chelsea having beaten Mauricio Pochettino's side 4-1 a few weeks ago in the Premier League.
However, Klopp is refusing to get overly drawn to the final as his side have to deal with Luton Town first. The German commented: "We cannot think about the final, we have to think about Luton. Luton deserve all of our focus and attention then we will look to final. After that, we will see how we can play the next game."
Luton Town will present a tough challenge for Liverpool on Wednesday, as the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture at Kenilworth Road last November. Rob Edwards' side will take some encouragement from that game and may fancy their chances at Anfield with all the current injuries the Reds are dealing with.
