Jurgen Klopp has admitted that Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez only returned to training on Thursday.
The Uruguayan had reportedly been struggling with a cut ankle, which prevented him from representing his country over the international break.
As a result, there was worry amongst Liverpool fans that Nunez would miss tomorrow’s big game against Manchester City. But speaking in his pre-match press conference today, Klopp said that although Darwin had indeed been injured, he’s not anymore.
“Darwin couldn’t train for two or three days this week because of the cut he got on his foot against Real Madrid,” said the Reds boss. “But he was back in full training yesterday. So yeah, he is definitely in contention [to play against City].”
Brilliant news. Having rested up over the international pause, hopefully Darwin is ready to go tomorrow lunchtime.
Nunez ready for Etihad role
All being well, you’d expect Nunez to start against City tomorrow. As his injury wasn’t a muscular one, he shouldn’t need to be eased in at all.
That’s just as well, because by the sounds of things Luis Diaz isn’t going to be quite ready to face Pep Guardiola’s team.
In the Colombian’s elongated absence, Nunez has often been Liverpool’s main spark. Now getting used to his left-sided forward role, he’s shown himself to be capable of wreaking havoc almost at will.
The 23-year-old has already shown a bit of that against City this season, too. Of course, he scored a debut goal against them to clinch the Community Shield for Liverpool last July. From the moment he came on the pitch that day to the moment he left it, he didn’t give Pep’s defence a minute’s peace.
Then, although only on the field for 20 minutes against them in October, Darwin could have had a hat-trick. He was electric that day and unlucky not to score.
Finally, it was his fantastic piece of wing-play that set up Mohamed Salah to score against City in the Carabao Cup in December. So, Nunez does have form against Pep’s champions. Time to unleash him at the Etihad.
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