Liverpool are reportedly sweating over the fitness of Ibrahima Konate ahead of the visit of Manchester City but have not yet ruled him out of the contest.
The struggling hosts are facing a defensive injury crisis with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip both injured. After missing the start of the season with a knee injury, Konate returned to action as a substitute in last weekend’s 3-2 loss to Arsenal.
He made his first start of the campaign in Liverpool’s 7-1 Champions League thrashing of Rangers on Wednesday but is said to be facing another muscular problem ahead of Sunday’s meeting with City.
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The Liverpool Echo reports that the Frenchman is a doubt for the game although, for now, is still in contention to feature. It adds that Konate missed Friday’s training session albeit the club says this was already scheduled in order to allow extra recovery time amid his recent return from injury.
Liverpool will wait to see how the problem settles before making a final decision. He was due to undergo an assessment on Saturday but Jurgen Klopp is thought not ready to risk him if there is a concern about his fitness given his two-month absence at the start of the season.
Konate’s absence would likely mean Joe Gomez starts alongside Virgil van Dijk with James Milner possibly put in at right-back. Alternatively, Fabinho could fill in alongside Van Dijk with Gomez on the right while Nat Phillips also an option.
In other team news, Andy Robertson may start after recovering from his setback to feature as a substitute against Rangers. The home side will be without Luis Diaz, who has been ruled out with a knee injury until after the World Cup.
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