Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has been ruled out of international duty with France due to injury, according to a new update on his fitness.
The Reds are still buoyant after their 3-0 victory at home to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, as their impressive start to the season continues.
Jurgen Klopp’s men did it all without both Konate and Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the defence, too, on a day when many supporters were concerned about Joel Matip and Joe Gomez filling in.
While the pair did excellently at Anfield, hardly putting a foot wrong, the hope is that neither start when Liverpool visit Wolves on September 16th, seeing as they are now considered squad players.
Van Dijk could be back from suspension by that point unless his ban is lengthened, but Konate’s availability is unknown currently, having been sidelined through injury since the 3-1 win at home to Bournemouth last month.
With many players heading off to represent their countries during the international break, it looks as though the 24-year-old won’t be playing for France, having initially been called up.
According to a statement from the French Football Confederation [via This Is Anfield], Konate has “insufficiently recovered” from a hamstring injury and therefore won’t be travelling to play for France over the next week or so.
It means the defender will likely remain in Liverpool and work on his recovery, as he hopes to be fit for the aforementioned clash with Wolves a week on Saturday.
Or thoughts on Konate’s international withdrawal…
This has to be considered good news for Liverpool, with Konate’s inclusion for France feeling like a big risk to begin with, at a time when he clearly isn’t 100% fit.
Instead, he should now have a good amount of time to rest up on Merseyside and also try to be back for the next game, proving to fitness to Klopp in the process.
While both Matip and Gomez deserve huge praise for strong performances against Villa, neither are on Konate’s level as a player, with his pace, power and reading of play making him Van Dijk’s first-choice centre-back partner, having been described as “incredible” by the Dutchman.
He is threatening to become an injury-prone player, however, with too many matches being missed over the past 12 months or so, and that needs to change if he is to lead Liverpool’s defence well into the future.
