Liverpool Injury News
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that defender Joe Gomez will be assessed ahead of the Reds’ Champions League Round of 16 match against Porto tonight but has confirmed that Ragnar Klavan is available for selection.
The 25-man Liverpool squad left for Lisbon on Tuesday [13 February afternoon] and what raised a couple of eyebrows was the fact that Emre Can travelled with the squad as well, despite him being unavailable for selection due to a suspension. Furthermore, as things stand for Gomez – who has made 20 Premier League appearances till date – the defender missed Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham on February 4 and was also sidelined for Liverpool’s trip to St. Mary’s on Sunday due to a notable knee injury.
Despite him not being match fit, the England international has made his trip to Lisbon with the rest of his teammates but Jurgen Klopp has he won’t rush Gomez into the starting XI unless and until a green signal is received from the medical department.
“I don’t know yet if he’ll [Gomez] be available on Wednesday, but I think he has a chance,” Klopp told Liverpool’s official website.
“All he’s done so far has looked good, but it’s all been about waiting for the reaction. I saw him this morning, he looked good as well.
“We have a session tonight and tomorrow morning, so it depends on how he looks in training and then I will start thinking about it. I don’t want to make pressure or rush him; it would be cool if he is available but we will see.”
Estonian defender Ragnar Klavan has missed Liverpool’s last four Premier League games – starting from that 1-0 defeat against Swansea to the recent 2-0 win over Southampton- but Klopp has affirmed that he is available for selection at the Estadio de Dragao.
“We should be OK more or less – pretty much the only one who is completely out of the game on the plane is Emre Can because of his suspension. Raggy is good and he’s fit.”
Furthermore, as far as Nathaniel Clyne is concerned, he is yet to make an appearance this season due to a back injury which required a surgery back in November. The England international, however, trained with the first team as the squad headed to Marbella for a warm-weather training camp. The former Southampton man will obviously won’t be available for the first-team selection but Klopp has given a positive update on his status.
“Clyney is back; of course, it is absolutely too early to think about him, but he is back in normal training, so that’s cool,” he told LiverpoolFC.com.
“He’s been training for two days but after that long of a break, it will take time until he is able to play.”
Having said that, it is safe to suggest that Klopp might yet again go with the back pair of Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk or if he tends to shake things up a bit, Dejan Lovren might get a nod in between. Also, as far as the goalkeeping department is concerned, the German has already confirmed that Loris Karius will be retaining his spot ahead of Mignolet after his great showing against Southampton.
