Why Rio Ngumoha won’t play for Liverpool in the Champions League against Lille despite impressing in Reds training

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Liverpool have remarkably few injuries at this stage of the season as they prepare for another big game in the Champions League.

The Reds have had a few scares here and there throughout the campaign, but generally the availability of the squad has been hugely improved under Arne Slot.

Gone are the lengthy injury lists of seasons gone by, as Liverpool put themselves in a strong position in both the Premier League and Champions League.

That is set to be underlined once again on Tuesday, with Slot expected to go strong against Lille as Liverpool aim for a guaranteed place in the last-16.

There are still a couple of players missing, of course. Diogo Jota is set to miss the Lille game having failed to recover in time, while Joe Gomez is still out with a hamstring issue.

And according to journalist David Lynch, 16-year-old starlet Rio Ngumoha is also set to be unavailable on Tuesday.

Rio Ngumoha ineligible for Liverpool

Slot has handled the Liverpool academy players with care this season, preferring not to play them unless really needed.

Nevertheless, Ngumoha has still managed to break through as one of the most exciting prospects the Reds have seen in years.

Slot admitted that Ngumoha had impressed him in training and after the teenager was given his debut against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup, fans have been hoping to get another glimpse.

However, speaking on his YouTube channel on Monday, Lynch says that supporters expecting to see Ngumoha on Tuesday will be left disappointed as the youngster is not registered to play.

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“One young player who we know won’t be involved is Rio Ngumoha,” he says, “He wasn’t named on Liverpool’s A list because youngsters don’t tend to be. But he also can’t be on the B list because he hasn’t been at the club for as long as two years yet.

“You can sneak these B list players into your squad whenever you like, these are under 21 players, but Ngumoha can’t because he only joined the club this summer. So, he won’t be involved and he wasn’t involved in training today, so we won’t be seeing him.”

Will any other youngsters be involved?

Even had Ngumoha been eligible to play for this one, it feels unlikely that Slot would throw him in.

The Liverpool head coach has five first-team options ahead of the former Chelsea prospect and he seemingly wants to go strong against a dangerous Lille team.

Nevertheless, there were still some youngsters turning out on Monday at the Liverpool training ground.

Jayden Danns looks likely to be in the squad and with Jota out is never too far away from getting on the pitch.

Others such as Trey Nyoni and James McConnell were also out on the pitches in Kirkby but feel less likely to get into a fully-fit Liverpool midfield.