Jurgen Klopp confirmed bad news for Liverpool that defender Joel Matip will be out for a long period of time after sustaining a knee injury.
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Matip went off injured in Fulham gameReds defender still to be fully assessedExpected to be out of action for long timeWHAT HAPPENED?
The centre-back was taken off in the second half of his side's 4-3 win against Fulham with an apparent injury. Klopp said after the game that the injury looked a bad one and confirmed again on Tuesday that the defender's condition does not have a positive outlook.
AdvertisementGettyWHAT KLOPP SAID
Klopp told reporters: "I don’t know exactly [how long he will be out] but it doesn’t look good, that’s something we can say. The scan is not done yet so we don't know exactly but it is not great. From the first minute it was clear. I spoke to him and said: 'Ah no, that is not good'. But how long [he will be injured for], we don't know."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The loss of Matip comes as a big blow to the Reds, who are already without the likes of Alisson, Diogo Jota, Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic and Andy Robertson. Alisson and Jota are closer to returning to action, Klopp said, adding: "Diogo was running yesterday (Monday) outside, on his birthday and everything is going in the right direction but no-one told me he will be back in team training. It will be some time. Obviously Alisson is closer but not for tomorrow, definitely."
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?
Klopp called on Ibrahima Konate to take Matip's place against Fulham on Sunday and it could be the Frenchman who gets the nod to start when they take on Sheffield United in the Premier League on Wednesday. For now, though, it will be speculative in the buildup to the contest.