- Liverpool will have a heavily depleted first team until at least the end of March
- Jurgen Klopp has found success relying on youngsters to fill in for big names
- The Carabao Cup final is like a World Cup final for Mauricio Pochettino, if Chelsea beat Liverpool it’ll be enormous for him – It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Liverpool are set to be without goalkeeper Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota until after next month’s international break.
Becker has a hamstring injury, Alexander-Arnold aggravated a knee problem which sidelined him in January and Jones has an ankle strain and none will return before the March 31 Premier League match against Brighton.
‘Ali, muscle injury, after the international break, it will really take time,’ said assistant manager Pep Lijnders ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea.
‘Trent, lateral ligament. He will be after the international break. Jots, medial ligament. He will be after the international break.
‘Curtis has high ankle strain. He will be (back) in and around the international break.’
Liverpool will be without four key players until the end of March, Pep Lijnders has confirmed
Klopp has had to rely heavily on youth this season and will continue to do so in this crisis
‘After the international break means that we are not sure (the exact date).’
The fitness of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai is being monitored and a late decision will be made on Sunday about whether they can feature.
Liverpool’s injury crisis threatens to hamper their charge for four trophies but so far they have marched on undeterred.
The Reds have won seven of their last eight Premier League games, putting together a run akin to the sort Manchester City are famed for at this time of year.
In the absence of senior players, academy products have shone.
Against Luton on Wednesday, Caoimhin Kelleher, Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah, and Harvey Elliott, Bobby Clark, James McConnell, and Jayden Danns all featured from the start or off the bench.
That’s eight academy graduates helping to comprise a team with a combined age of 21 – and Liverpools still won 4-1 after an emphatic second half.
Jurgen Klopp’s trust in youth is turning heads and it has once again made the club’s academy the envy of Europe.
Alisson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are two long-time Liverpool favourites who will be missing
Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones will also be absent, a blow to their firepower and creativity
However, fans have been frustrated by the number of injuries, which limits Klopp’s options and leaves them without some of the best players in the world when they are competing on four fronts.
Liverpool will host Manchester City in a gigantic clash at Anfield on March 10, a potential title determiner, and would prefer to have a full complement of players available.
However, Liverpool have proven themselves to be an adaptable side and their trust in youth so far has primed them to be ready for the big occasions.
