Ibrahima Konate has been spotted in Liverpool training today after missing the last two months through injury.
The 23-year-old centre-back picked up a knee injury in the final pre-season friendly at the end of July. In his absence, Liverpool made a stuttering start to the season.
But now, it looks like Konate is back and available for selection once again.
The France international could be seen making his way back out to the AXA training pitches for the first time this season. Great to have you back, Ibou!
Ibou returns to shore up the back line
Rewind to the end of last season and Konate had firmly planted himself in Jurgen Klopp’s best XI.
After easing his way into life in the Premier League, the young defender had grown in stature during the Spring.
29 games in all competitions included starts in Champions League and FA Cup finals. Only one of those ended in defeat, too. Unfortunately, it just so happened to be the biggest one of all, against Real Madrid.
No matter, Ibou was absolutely brilliant as the Reds wilted in Paris. His display in the city of his birth underlined the fact that this was to be a big season for him. Something a call-up to the France squad only underlined.
Unfortunately, injury put a halt to his momentum. This opened the door for Joe Gomez and Joel Matip to reassert themselves next to Virgil Van Dijk.
While Matip has been brilliant in his limited game time, Gomez has struggled to find form. One or two decent displays were followed by a truly atrocious performance against Napoli.
As a result, it could be that Konate will be back to being the manager’s first choice in no time. With other options available though, Liverpool’s No.5 shouldn’t be rushed back, no chance.
But how they’ve missed his commanding presence alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold. The right-back called his younger teammate ‘ridiculous’ via LFCTV last season and it’s plain to see that he’s missed Konate as much as anyone. The wait is finally over.
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