Ibrahima Konaté has his return date set after making the World Cup semi-finals. The Frenchman is the only Liverpool player still in Qatar.
This comes from the Liverpool Echo. They say that Liverpool will give all players leaving the World Cup one week of rest before returning to training.
And with that, the Reds should see all but one player back with them ahead of their first competitive fixture. That comes against Manchester City in the EFL Cup on December 22nd.
The only player who certainly won’t be back is Ibrahima Konaté. France made the World Cup semi-finals, meaning that even defeat would keep him at the tournament for the third-placed playoff.
Thus his return would be on either the 24th or 25th of December. Given what those particular days are, it’s entirely possible that Konaté doesn’t train until the 27th, with Liverpool playing on the 26th. He’ll be expected to report that weekend, though – with France’s upcoming fixture with Morocco determining exactly which day.
Ibrahima Konaté return date
It’s a shame that Konaté misses any games, of course, but this World Cup is proving to be a wonderful thing for him. The defender has featured regularly under Didier Deschamps in Qatar and looking like a star.
The French press have praised him heavily and rightfully so. Shouts of ‘impeccable’ show just how well he’s playing as a starting player at the World Cup.
Not that Konaté has started every game and he’s still not quite the first-choice for France. But we think Liverpool prefer that. Here’s a player who barely played pre-World Cup as injuries kept him out. The idea of an exhausting tournament was a little scary for his fitness but France have managed him well.
And so Liverpool should get a confident, fully-fit player back who isn’t too exhausted. If Konaté can carry his form into the Reds’ season, he could make a massive contribution in the pursuit for trophies.
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