Liverpool will be without Ragnar Klavan this weekend when Leicester City visit Anfield, according to the Liverpool Echo.
The Estonian international picked up a knock on international duty this week and will have to sit out the Reds’ Premier League encounter with the champions.
“A scan had given Klavan the all-clear to captain Estonia in their opening World Cup qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday night,” reports the Liverpool Echo’s James Pearce.
Pearce added that, “Klavan will now be assessed by Liverpool’s medical staff but he’s unlikely to feature this weekend.”
Injury to Klavan means that a continued partnership between Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren is certain to carry on. The pair first featured together in Liverpool’s 5-0 rout of Burton Albion in the EFL Cup before a very impressive display against Tottenham just before the international break.
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Klopp signed Joel Matip from Bundesliga side Schalke and, as Emre Can has revealed, he has had his eye on the Cameroonian for a few years.
“Matip is very good for the side. He’s very good on the ball. He was a leader at Schalke and played many years there. I think you need a player like him,” Can told Liverpoolfc.com.
“[Klopp] said to me last year that he always said when he was at Dortmund that when he was at another club he would buy Matip. He liked him a lot and that’s why he brought him here to Liverpool.”
Matip has brought height, but also an increased level of composure to Klopp’s back four with his passing from the back measured and assured. Despite still trying to find his feet in the ever-competitive Premier League, Matip looks certain to transform Liverpool’s defence.
Although Klavan maybe missing, Lucas Leiva can fill in as a reserve centre-half due to the Brazilian’s versatility. Klopp has plenty options and despite injury to his Estonian defender, it is highly unlikely that Mamadou Sakho will be given a call-up after his controversial beginning to 2016.
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