Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has provided a big injury update regarding a host of players ahead of Sunday’s EFL Cup final meeting with Chelsea.
The Reds have a great chance to win their first trophy of the season this weekend, as they once again do battle with the Blues at Wembley.
Jurgen Klopp’s men twice prevailed against Chelsea in the domestic cups back in 2021/22, sealing victory on penalties both times in the final, and they are favourites to win this time around.
Liverpool have had a host of injury problems to contend with of late, however – so have the west Londoners, in fairness – with the likes of Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah out, to name just a few.
Speaking in his pre-Chelsea press conference on Friday, Lijnders hinted at Dominik Szoboszlai, Darwin Nunez and Salah being available, but started with a negative update regarding Alisson, Alexander-Arnold and Jota:
“They will be longer out. Curtis is probably the first one [to come back] around the international break. All the others will be after the international break.”
“Dom, Darwin and Mo we have to really see, we have two more days. So today’s session and tomorrow’s session. We will check if they can be there. Would be great, to be honest!”
Our thoughts on Liverpool’s injury latest…
This certainly can’t be classed as a positive injury update for Liverpool, considering how many big players are absent, but there are some crumbs of comfort to take.
It looks as though Szoboszlai, Salah and Nunez are battling hard to be available for the Chelsea game, and even if they are only fit enough for the substitutes’ bench, it should be seen as a big positive.
The attack of Harvey Elliott, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo looked disjointed in the first half against Luton Town, admittedly coming alive after the break in the Reds’ 4-1 win, and having the pace of Salah and Nunez would make such a big difference.
The news surrounding Alisson, Alexander-Arnold and Jota is a major concern, however, and Liverpool are simply going to have to knuckle down and accept that they won’t have three of their most important players until the spring.
