Major injury blow for Liverpool as an abject January draws to a close

Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate faces up to three weeks out with a hamstring injury

According to The Athletic (subscription required), Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate

will miss up to three weeks of action after picking up a hamstring injury post the Brighton game.

The France international, who has played every single game for the Reds in 2023, complained about discomfort after Sunday’s defeat at the Amex Stadium. The subsequent scans revealed that he has a hamstring issue.

If we look at what is coming up, the former RB Leipzig defender could miss games against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Everton and Newcastle United in the league, and is a major doubt for the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid.

It is such a shame to see Konate injured because he was probably the most in-form defender in the squad following the injury to Virgil van Dijk earlier this month. Jurgen Klopp now has three fit centre-backs at his disposal – Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Nat Phillips. The latter was due to leave on deadline day, but the injury situation may stop that from happening.

In a season where muscle injuries are like best friends for Liverpool, this is just another blow. Remember, we lost van Dijk

for more than a month with a hamstring problem he suffered against Brentford. Diogo Jota has been a long-term casualty due to a serious muscle issue (calf).

Whether this is down to luck or a horrendous performance from the club’s medical team, remains to be seen. It’s like the latter is unable to correctly prepare players for games from a physical viewpoint. Hence, we have seen many of them pick up muscle injuries during training sessions too (Roberto Firmino being a prime example of that).

More Liverpool News:

• Fabrizio Romano claims Liverpool are leading the race for Jude Bellingham
• Five face competition from four other teams for Declan Rice
• Jurgen Klopp urges Liverpool to sign Chelsea star N’Golo Kante

Whatever it is, Liverpool will miss Konate for the length of time he will be out. We can only hope that the likes of Matip, Gomez and Phillips do a good job in the coming games. With van Dijk only coming back to training in mid-February, we would be without two key defenders for the next 3-4 games.