Jurgen Klopp has taken to his pre-match press conference ahead of the Premier League clash with Newcastle United to give an update on Andy Robertson’s injury timeline.
Liverpool will have no time at all to enjoy the feeling of being top of the Premier League table and will get straight back to work when they invite Eddie Howe and his squad to Anfield on New Year’s Day.
Jurgen Klopp will be thrilled with the progress his squad has made since introducing some fresh faces in the summer, but will have the experience to know more than most that being at the top of the table only matters when the final whistle in blown on the final day of the season.
Liverpool have won their last five games against Newcastle and are unbeaten in 14 games against them, with the last defeat coming in December 2015, so the Reds definitely go into this game as favourites to take points away from the meeting on New Year’s Day.
In terms of injuries, the Merseyside giants have six players unavailable for selection with Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago Alcantara, Alexis Mac Allister, Joel Matip, Kostas Tsimikas and Andrew Robertson all still in recovery.
On Robertson, Klopp gave an update on the condition of the Scotland captain’s long-term shoulder injury that has kept him out of the Liverpool squad since October.
The German coach told the media yesterday:
“Robbo still needs more range in his shoulder,”
“Still not even close to team training. He can do a lot, everything without using the arm properly, but there is a long way to go. For sure, I think the full January, he will have to get closer and closer.”
When will Andy Robertson be back?
There is no doubt that Robertson’s shoulder injury has been a massive blow for Liverpool as he has been one of the most trusted and consistent features in the majority of Klopp’s reign at Anfield.
The 29-year-old left-back has played a huge part in the success that the club has seen over the last half a decade and is one of the first names on the team sheet without fail when fit, so his recovery moving forward from a nasty shoulder injury will be crucial to Liverpool’s hopes for another title victory.
Not only that, Klopp has now lost his second to Robertson in Tsimikas who suffered a broken collarbone in the clash with Arsenal last week and will be out of action for the foreseeable, meaning the manager will likely need to lean on Joe Gomez to cover the fort on the left flank against the Magpies.
With that being said, Klopp has given an indication that the entire month of January will be used as further recovery time for Robertson so it is unlikely to see him back in first-team training until February.
