THIAGO ALCANTARA is still ‘weeks away’ from Liverpool return, manager Jurgen Klopp confirms.
Thiago was ruled out of action with a knee injury after a crunching tackle by Everton’s Richarlison in the Merseyside derby last month.
Thiago has only played 135 minutes of football for Liverpool this seasonCredit: Getty Images
The Spaniard has missed nine games as a consequence, and boss Klopp has confirmed he’s set to miss more over the busy Christmas period.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Ajax, Klopp said: “On that day when he got injured v Everton, after the scan there was good news and bad news.
“Nothing broken or ruptured but it was still a massive impact on the knee.
“It’s still not okay. I can’t say exactly when he will be fine but it’ll take a few weeks still.”
And the bad luck with injuries struck again in Saturday’s controversial draw away at Brighton.
James Milner, the man who typically comes to Klopp’s rescue when someone picks up an injury or needs a rest, had to come off after picking up a hamstring problem.
The German now has as many as eight first team stars on the injury table, amounting to hundreds of millions of pounds sat on the sidelines.
Centre-back duo Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are both out with serious knee injuries and could possibly not feature again this season.
Jordan Pickford has come under fire for his reckless challenge which injured Virgil van Dijk
Trent Alexander-Arnold is on the road to recovery and has stepped up his rehab work, but the clash against Ajax comes too soon for a return.
Klopp is also without midfield trio Xherdan Shaqiri, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
For Saturday’s trip to the South Coast, Liverpool had to make do with a make-shift centre-back partnership of Fabinho and Nathaniel Phillips, and youngster Neco Williams covering for Alexander-Arnold at right-back.
And, although the Brazilian can slot in at centre-back, Liverpool haven’t looked as comfortable in the absence of Van Dijk.
Klopp admitted he’s light on men at his disposa, sayingl: “I don’t have enough players to prioritise.
“It’s not about the competition, it’s about the players. On Saturday the fittest players played.”
Sam Allardyce feels Jordan Pickford should’ve been sent off in Everton v Liverpool match
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
