Liverpool assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders has confirmed that Xherdan Shaqiri will miss Wednesday’s trip to MK Dons in the Carabao Cup third round.
The Switzerland international picked up a knock in training on Monday and is currently being assessed by the Reds’ medical staff.
Ljinders revealed that the £80,000-a-week forward [Source: Spotrac] pulled up with a calf problem, and had a scan on the setback which revealed a small injury.
“Yesterday towards the end of training, Shaq felt his calf stiffen up a little bit,” he told the club’s official website.
“He couldn’t continue and a scan showed he had a little tear there. We need to wait a couple of days, but for sure he is not in contention for tomorrow. He needs some rest, so he will not be involved.”
The 27-year-old has yet to start for the Reds this season in the Premier League and has only managed to complete 11 minutes in two appearances.
OPINION
Shaqiri will clearly be disappointed that he is missing his first real opportunity at a full 90 minutes this season. The Swiss international has been on the fringes of the starting 11 ever since joining Anfield, and has come on and made a real difference when coming off the bench for either Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane. The 27-year-old was involved in nine goals in 24 games in the Premier League last season, and there will be times when Jurgen Klopp will need the winger to step up and be counted at certain points of this campaign, whether that be in the cup, the Premier League or in Europe. Klopp recently confirmed, as quoted by journalist Ian Doyle, that Shaqiri wasn’t the happiest player regarding his playing time at the Reds, but still trained brilliantly. Everyone will be gutted for Shaqiri, but if he gets head down and works hard to return, he will be at full fitness and challenging for minutes as quickly as possible.
