“What a player, but his body was not ready”, “That is realistic” - Jurgen Klopp provides fitness update on 2 Liverpool players before Luton Town clash
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has provided an injury update on Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic ahead of the clash at Luton Town on Sunday, November 5.
Thiago has yet to feature this season after undergoing surgery following a hip injury back in April. Bajcetic, meanwhile, made two appearances last month but has been sidelined since.
In a pre-match press conference ahead of the Luton Town clash in the Premier League, Klopp said about Bajcetic (via ECHO):
"No [update]. With Stefan, it's one of these things where Liverpool have a brilliant player. His quality, potential, everybody can see. What a player. But his body was not ready yet. We have to put the brake on and wait until it's all fine. Then LFC has a wonderful player to use.”
Bajcetic made his Liverpool debut last season amidst an injury crisis and has made 21 appearances so far.
Klopp added about Thiago:
"Thiago is an ongoing thing. We cannot put any pressure there as well. We expect him to be back start of the New Year. Another four weeks, I would say that is realistic. I can't wait to have him back. No week on week update."
Thiago, 32, has been injury-prone ever since his transfer to the Reds from Bayern Munich in 2020. He has missed over 60 games during his stint at Anfield and registered three goals and six assists in 97 appearances.
Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool's attacking options
Liverpool have a host of incredible attacking options with Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, and Diogo Jota. However, Diaz is currently sidelined due to the reported kidnapping of his parents in Colombia. While his mother was saved, the winger's father is still missing.
Ahead of the Luton clash, Jurgen Klopp reflected on having four attacking options for the unforeseeable future and said (via ECHO):
"They are all really smart players and understand they can't play all games. We cannot force the Luis situation. It is not in our hands. Waiting together for good news, so it's currently four with a lot of games coming.
"We had a horrible year together. The questions are now much more positive. I'm a lot more positive, but it's so early. I'm so happy we have a really good team, but other teams are really good as well. It's not about celebrating in the moment."
Salah has been the best of Liverpool's attackers this season, registering 10 goals and four assists in 14 games across competitions.
Nunez has contributed seven goals and five assists in 14 games. Gakpo has four goals and one assist while Diaz has three goals and one assist, both in 11 games. Meanwhile, Jota has scored six goals in 13 games.