Liverpool suffer another injury blow as star is ruled out of Premier League game against Fulham
Liverpool will be without star defender Ibrahima Konate ahead of their opening Premier League game against Fulham on Saturday, 6 August.
The French centre-back picked up a knock during the Reds' final pre-season game against Ligue 1 side Strasbourg. This saw him getting substituted in the second half of the game which they went on to lose 3-0.
Konate confirmed that he will be sitting out the game against Fulham by posting the following message on his Instagram account. He said:
“Unfortunately, I have to spend some time off the pitch but it won’t be too long. In the meantime, I will be doing my best to come back even stronger and supporting the boys.”
Ibrahima Konate arrived at Anfield last summer from Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig for a fee of around £36 million. The Frenchman had a slow start to his Liverpool career but gradually broke into the first-team. Konate featured in the UEFA Champions League final last season against Real Madrid. Unfortunately, the Reds fell to a 1-0 defeat in Paris on that occasion.
The absence of Ibrahima Konate could see Joel Matip start alongside Virgil van Dijk in defense. The 30-year-old defender started in the FA Community Shield against Manchester City last week, which Liverpool went on to win 3-1.
Joe Gomez is another possible option at Jurgen Klopp's disposal. The England defender penned a new five-year contract in the summer and has also been given a new squad number ahead of the new season. Gomez played the full 90 minutes in the Reds' 3-0 defeat to Strasbourg.
Do Liverpool have any other injury concerns ahead of their game against Fulham?
Ibrahima Konate is not the only Liverpool player to miss out on their opening game against Fulham in the Premier League. Youngster Curtis Jones is also unavailable for selection, according to The Mirror.
Jones came off the bench in the dying moments of the game during the Community Shield and was expected to feature against Strasbourg the following day. However, the 21-year-old midfielder had a muscle issue which kept him out of the game.
NEW: Curtis Jones to miss Liverpool’s Fulham clash, with recovery timescale revealed thisisanfield.com/2022/08/curtis…
Another player who might not feature against Fulham is Portuguese forward Diogo Jota. The 25-year-old forward is recovering from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the entire pre-season.
Jota himself penned a new five-year contract earlier this week which will see him stay at Liverpool until the summer of 2027.