Jurgen Klopp has issued an update on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s injury and the Liverpool midfielder will not be available until 2020 at the earliest.
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Oxlade-Chamberlain injured his ankle in their FIFA Club World Cup final win against Flamengo in Doha, Qatar on Saturday and after he was shown on crutches the extent of his injury has now been confirmed ahead of Liverpool’s trip to second-place Leicester City on Boxing Day (Watch live, 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com).
“The ankle [is] what we probably expected; you have three ligaments on the outside of the ankle, one of them is damaged,” Klopp said. “Now we have to see how quickly we can fix that. I don’t know exactly. I had that injury myself, but it was years ago and it can take a while or can be quick, we have to see. No chance for Thursday and no chance for this year; Oxlade will not play anymore [in 2019] that’s clear. Then we have to see how quickly it can settle.”
So, the Ox is out for Liverpool’s big games against Leicester City and Wolves but luckily they have pretty of options in central midfield right now.
Despite Fabinho being out injured, they still have Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Naby Keita and James Milner available in central midfield.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has shown flashes of his brilliance since returning from his long-term injury, as Klopp has nursed him back to full fitness and the England midfielder has suffered a few smaller setbacks in recents months.
