Arne Slot offers Rio Ngumoha injury latest and Liverpool admission after Barnsley

Arne Slot offered the latest update on Rio Ngumoha after the Liverpool talent was substituted in the second half of the FA Cup tie at Anfield, along with his match verdict

Arne Slot after Liverpool 4-1 Barnsley in the FA Cup.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot does not expect Rio Ngumoha to be out for long after he was substituted in the second half of the FA Cup victory over Barnsley on Monday.

But the Reds head coach admitted that more needs to be done by his players moving forward to ensure that games are controlled much better after a few scares throughout the game against League One opposition.

Ngumoha was impressive in bursts, but having not played much this season, he had to be replaced in the second half. Jeremie Frimpong was also taken of,f but that was to protect his fitness, with Conor Bradley set to miss the rest of the campaign.

"I expect [Ngumoha] to be cramp, which is not so strange because he hasn't played too many minutes this season," Slot explained. "Today he played 70 or 75 minutes."

Liverpool fielded a strong team against Barnsley, with players including Virgil van Dijk starting and Florian Wirtz and Ibrahima Konate coming off the bench.

"There was also no other choice because I wasn't able to play 11 other players — because I don't have them," Slot said.

Rio Ngumoha received medical treatment on the pitch before making way(Image: )

"As you have seen today, you have to respect this competition and respect Barnsley — because even with large amounts of starters they made it really difficult for us."

Liverpool needed Wirtz to come on before the win was secured. He looked a class above in his cameo, scoring and then setting up Hugo Ekitike.

"If you come in for half an hour and you have a goal and an assist and a few other good moments, you can definitely say he brought something creative to the team and that we what needed today," Slot said.

"I was happy with the goals we scored — they were nice goals. But I think it was a game that was tight for far too long.

"At 2-0 and then giving a goal away like that made it difficult it until 5-10 minutes before the end. So yeah, good goals but not enough chances from all the ball possession we had."

Liverpool will play Brighton in the next round of the FA Cup. Fabian Hurzeler's men knocked out Manchester United this weekend with Brajan Gruda and Danny Welbeck scoring.

The Reds were drawn against the Seagulls before kick-off at Anfield and should prioritize this competition given the Premier League title has already gone and Slot's men are out of the League Cup.