Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp delivers a positive update on Cody Gakpo’s knee injury but rules the Dutchman out of Sunday’s clash with Brighton & Hove Albion.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is confident that Cody Gakpo will be back in action straight after the international break.
The Netherlands attacker was the victim of a poor challenge from Destiny Udogie in last weekend’s loss to Tottenham Hotspur, but he initially played through the pain to score at the end of the first half.
However, immediately after firing the ball past Guglielmo Vicario, Gakpo dropped to the turf clutching his knee, and he had to be replaced by Diogo Jota for the second half.
Gakpo was unsurprisingly not involved in Thursday’s 2-0 Europa League victory over Union SG, and reports earlier this week claimed that the 24-year-old could spend several weeks on the sidelines.
Such fears have been quashed by Klopp, though, as the Reds boss has revealed that the former PSV Eindhoven man is now out of his brace and should get back up to speed during the international break.
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When asked by reporters at his pre-Brighton & Hove Albion press conference if Gakpo would be able to return after the imminent international break, Klopp responded: “Cody, there is a good chance.
“He is already out of the brace, walks normal around, so from all the very, very bad opportunities and possibilities injury-wise, I think he nearly got the best but is still injured.”
Gakpo is one of five Liverpool players taking up beds in the treatment room, as Thiago Alcantara has now spent six months on the sidelines with a troublesome hip problem, while Stefan Bajcetic tweaked his calf after returning from an adductor injury.
Meanwhile, Conor Bradley is struggling with a back issue related to his growth, while second-choice goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher recently damaged his knee in a training ground collision and required 12 stitches to mend the wound.
Offering an injury update on the rest of his troops, Klopp revealed that the luckless Thiago had suffered a second setback in his rehabilitation, and he is putting no pressure on the Spaniard or his compatriot Bajcetic to return before the end of the month.
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“It is just, for [Thiago] himself especially, annoying. He had now two setbacks in the rehab, not massive but enough to take him off the pitch again. Obviously not the same injury, not at all, but a bit similar,” Klopp added.
“It’s as annoying as it is for Stefan Bajcetic, who was there, played a few minutes and then played a few minutes and then felt something else. That’s how it is after long-term injuries from time to time.
“I don’t know and I will not put pressure on that [their returns] because I can’t anyway. If they will be back after the internationals, we will see that. Hopefully, it would be cool.
“Conor is on the way back, he is running, but in that age group and with these kind of injuries you tend to give them rather three weeks more than not enough because it has to do with the growing process of the body and stuff like this. I couldn’t get this injury anymore, let me say it like that! And that’s why he needs a bit of time.”
Liverpool will also be without the suspended Curtis Jones and Jota for Sunday’s trip to Brighton, and the former’s absence could open the door for Ryan Gravenberch to make his full Premier League debut following his first goal for the Reds on Thursday evening.
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