Arne Slot may have to come up with plan B for Liverpool’s midfield after Ryan Gravenberch news emerges

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Liverpool are moving into a crucial stage of the season as the festive fixture list comes into view.

The Reds still have three games to play before the end of the calendar year and will be aiming to take all the points available to them.

The first of those matches comes on Sunday, with a trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Arne Slot is set to make a whole raft of changes to the team once again, having fielded a much-rotated XI against Southampton in midweek.

Several key members of the Liverpool squad did not even travel to St Mary’s, with Slot looking to protect them ahead of a busy two weeks.

One of those left out of the Carabao Cup game was Ryan Gravenberch, who has been Slot’s most used midfielder this season. But after some news emerged this week, it seems the Liverpool head coach may have to come up with a different plan in the coming games.

Ryan Gravenberch on verge of Liverpool absence

Gravenberch has been a revelation under Slot so far. The Dutchman has started all 21 Premier League and Champions League matches.

Throughout that period Gravenberch has made himself indispensable to this Liverpool team.

And though we are yet to see Slot line up without the 22-year-old in the two key competitions, that looks like it soon might have to change.

As per premierleague.com, Gravenberch is now one booking away from an automatic one-game suspension.

READ MORE: Whether Liverpool are really looking into swapping Ryan Gravenberch for Aurelien Tchouameni

The former Ajax man has picked up four yellow cards across his 15 appearances so far, with one more caution ruling him out.

As the card count is not reset until after game week 19 in the Premier League, Gravenberch is going to have to make it through each of Liverpool’s next three matches unscathed.

Wataru Endo has to be Slot’s plan B

It seems very possible that Gravenberch will pick up a booking against any of Tottenham, West Ham or Leicester.

The Netherlands international managed to escape without a yellow card in each of his last two matches for Liverpool, but was cautioned during the previous three in a row.

It is a real tightrope for a player who is nominally Liverpool’s deepest lying midfielder at any point during a game.

But while Gravenberch’s suspension would sting a great deal, Slot should be feeling a whole lot better about putting Wataru Endo in to replace him.

Endo was brilliant against Southampton in midweek and has surely now shown Slot that he can be counted on if needed in Gravenberch’s absence. It may not come to that, of course, but Liverpool may soon have to prove that they can do it without their No.38 .