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As if the last couple of weeks haven’t been bad enough for Liverpool with three consecutive defeats, now injuries are threatening to really rub salt in the wounds.
Losing Giovanni Leoni for what will likely be the rest of the season was bad enough, with the young defender having not even played the full 90 minutes on his debut before being stretchered off with a torn ACL.
Then came Alisson Becker’s seemingly annual hamstring problem, before Wataru Endo raised fears just a little more by pulling out of Japan’s squad for the international break. Now, Ibrahima Konate has got supporters majorly concerned.
Having been sent home from international duty early, that thigh injury he picked up against Chelsea is now looking all the more worrying, and leaving fans ruing missing out on Marc Guehi’s signing even more.
Crystal Palace’s decision to pull the plug at the eleventh hour is looking more and more costly for Liverpool with every passing day. There is, of course, the chance to go back in for him in January, although Arne Slot has already indicated the Reds don’t have any plans to dip back into the market in the New Year.
“That all depends on whether we get more injuries, yes or no, and if there's a chance in the market - all the answers I always give,” Slot said just a couple of weeks ago.
“But I would not prefer to go to 24/25 players. Also, if it is ever a situation where I lead a team that has four or five injuries throughout the whole season, it might be a bit smarter to go to 24/25, but recent history showed that [we have a good record] until now.
“We don't have five or six injuries at the same time throughout the whole season. If that would be the situation, then we would end up with 15-16 players and that would normally be difficult.
“So it's a choice I like to make but I think it is also a financial choice that we as a club have to make. If we want to keep these top players, we cannot have 24/25 of them.”
Despite what Slot said, Liverpool is very nearly at the point where it won’t have any other option but to go after another defender in January - whether it’s Guehi or anyone else.
Leoni’s absence left just three recognized center-backs in the Reds’ squad. Depending on Konate’s injury, that might now come down to two, and there might not even be the added crutch of Endo to fall back on.
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That could leave Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, and it would be a brave coach who relied on the latter to maintain his fitness for an elongated spell in the side.
Lose either of them, and suddenly Liverpool finds itself in the same situation as four years ago - needing midfielders to cover at center-back or calling upon youth team players.
Like this season, the Reds were defending a title back in 2020/21, but their hopes were dealt a serious blow when Van Dijk was ruled out for the majority of the campaign, with the rest of the senior defensive options soon joining him on the sidelines.
This Liverpool side cannot be thrown into that position again. Hopefully, it doesn’t happen before we move into 2025, but even if that is the case, Slot and Liverpool can’t risk luck being on their side for the rest of the season. They simply have to sign a new defender in January.
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