When four Liverpool players who are facing injury concerns get ready to play for their countries this month, it seems to be mostly good news.
Currently, 26 Liverpool players—including the majority of Jurgen Klopp’s starting lineup—have been called up for international duty during the season’s final break.
Nevertheless, in light of their performances against Man United on Sunday, the manager expressed doubt about Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, and Cody Gakpo.
“Darwin felt his hamstring, Lupo felt his groin, and Cody twisted his ankle.” It’s crazy, they play again in four or five days,” Klopp said to BBC Sport.
Furthermore, it was unknown if Ibrahima Konate would play for France after being left out of the team for the FA Cup quarterfinal loss.
However, there appears to be mostly good news as the players report for training in advance of several friendlies over the next two weeks.
With Uruguay still to announce their final roster for their friendlies against the Basque Country (March 23) and Ivory Coast (March 26), Nunez is the only player who remains a cause for concern.
However, according to early reports from Uruguay, the 24-year-old was not included in Marcelo Bielsa’s starting lineup because of a hamstring injury.
But it’s unclear if Liverpool should be very concerned about it.
Didier Deschamps, the manager of France, reportedly told reporters on Monday that there were “no worries” about Konate after medical examinations at Clairefontaine, according to journalist Julien Froment.
Noticias Caracol, a Colombian publication, claims that Diaz’s groin problem was “nothing serious” and that on Monday he reported as usual to Colombia’s base in London.
According to a Dutch FA update, Gakpo appears to be free of any serious injuries. It also confirms that Ajax striker Brian Brobbey has been left out of the Netherlands squad.
Manager Ronald Koeman “does not call up a replacement, so the Dutch selection now consists of 25 players,” according to a statement released on Monday afternoon.
Koeman would almost certainly need to add at least one more forward to his ranks if Gakpo was also expected to withdraw, but that does seem to be the case now.
During his Sunday press conference following the game, Klopp stated that he hoped national team managers wouldn’t put too much pressure on his players this month.
“Wataru, I believe, has qualifiers, but I cannot make these decisions for the managers; most of them don’t speak the same language,” he said to reporters. “I think most of them have friendlies.”
“I hope they don’t have to play two games, 90 minutes each, because they want them in the best shape possible for the summer, and most of them play [in summer tournaments].”
