Liverpool are already short on center backs and this Ibrahima Konate injury news is worrying for Arne Slot and all Reds fans out there.
Konate left the French national team on Saturday due to an injury and has returned to Liverpool for further assessment, as he didn’t feature for France in their win against Azerbaijan on Friday and won’t feature against Iceland on Monday.
The French national team released the following statement on Konate’s thigh injury.
“Injured in the right quadriceps during his last match with Liverpool, Ibrahima Konate has followed a treatment and protocol since his arrival this Monday but will not be able to take his place against Iceland.”
What does this Konate injury mean for Liverpool?
It’s not great. Konate came off in the second half of the 2-1 defeat against Chelsea before the international break and both he and Virgil van Dijk have been rolled out time and time again by Arne Slot early in the season due to a lack of options in central defense.
Young Italian defender Giovanni Leoni has suffered a serious knee injury, so Joe Gomez is the only other natural center back Liverpool have in their squad aside from Van Dijk and Konate.
The fact that Konate is now struggling with an injury is a huge problem for a Liverpool side who have lost three games in a row in all competitions and host bitter rivals Manchester United after the international break (watch live, Sunday October 19, 11:30am ET on USA).
Does Joe Gomez come straight in if Konate isn’t fit? Or will Slot try one of two holding midfielders Ryan Gravenberch or Wataru Endo in that position? Gravenberch played at center back against Chelsea when Konate came off injured and losing the presence of the Dutchman in midfielder was a big reason why Liverpool lost control of the game in the last 30 minutes and eventually lost in stoppage time.
It will likely be Gomez starting alongside Van Dijk if Konate isn’t fit for the next few games, but don’t rule out Endo starting there either. Either way, not signing another experienced center back this summer all of a sudden looks like a massive mistake from Liverpool.
