Ibrahima Konate is highly unlikely to play any part in Liverpool’s Boxing Day match against Aston Villa.
Konate had already been ruled out of next Thursday’s Carabao Cup tie with Manchester City. But as per The Athletic, there is now major doubt over his involvement in the match on the following Monday, too.
The earliest Konate will finish his World Cup duties is this Saturday. That would be via a third placed playoff against Croatia. But with France expected to win tonight’s semi final with Morocco, Sunday is perhaps expected to be his final involvement.
Following the tournament, Konate is then reportedly expected to be given a week off. As a result, the 23-year-old is set to miss Liverpool’s first two games of the restart.
This may prompt a reshuffle from Jurgen Klopp in his defence. Joel Matip and Joe Gomez are said to be in-line to start the Carabao Cup tie against City, with Virgil van Dijk not back until the end of this week.
All being well, Van Dijk should return to the line-up for the Villa game. However, Virgil will reportedly be ‘assessed’ upon his return from the World Cup. Having played every minute of the Netherlands campaign, the insinuation is that his minutes may be managed in the short term.
More Konate frustration for Liverpool
This is really news that Liverpool could have done without. It only goes to highlight further the ridiculousness of hosting this tournament in the middle of the season.
It’s true that Liverpool could have been far worse affected. With only one of their seven representatives making it past the quarter final in Qatar, they have got off easier than some of their rivals.
Nevertheless, Konate will be a big miss. The Reds No.5 has barely featured this season, playing just four times in all competitions.
Those four games have been enough to remind us of just how good the Frenchman can be, though. His displays when given the chance for his country have also been mightily impressive. Van Dijk called him ‘incredible’ with complete justification. That only adds to the frustration that Liverpool have to count two more games without him.
Virgil is also badly needing a rest. Yes, he’s enjoying a week off now, but that isn’t enough. According to The Athletic, the Dutchman played more minutes than any other player selected for the World Cup leading into the tournament.
That continued in Qatar where he was a mainstay of the Dutch defence. With his ACL injury still in the back of the mind, maybe it’s best if he doesn’t feature until the New Year. As a result, Liverpool fans may have to get used to a Gomez/Matip partnership, for these couple of games at least.
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