7 hours ago
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Ibrahima Konate has been forced to withdraw from international duty due to injury concerns. The Liverpool defender was unable to feature against Azerbaijan and will not be making the trip to Iceland.
Konate arrived at Clairefontaine with an existing injury and has been unable to recover in time to contribute to Les Bleus' World Cup qualifying campaign. He was seen leaving the pitch during Liverpool's recent Premier League match against Chelsea.
Didier Deschamps' squad are set to jet off to Reykjavik on Saturday evening, preparing for their match against Iceland on Monday. However, Konate will not be joining them as he focuses on his recovery.
The former RB Leipzig star has been following a personalised treatment plan for a thigh injury. Now, all eyes are on whether he'll be fit for Liverpool's upcoming clash with Manchester United next weekend.
Konate made a swift exit down the tunnel early in the second half of Liverpool's defeat to Chelsea, leaving Arne Slot with limited options in central defence. Curtis Jones stepped in to replace the 26 year old, with Ryan Gravenberch shifting to join Virgil van Dijk in the backline.
Despite the concern over Konate's injury, Slot remains hopeful that the quick substitution may have prevented a more serious issue.
"I don't know if it is a big injury, but what I do know is he limped a little bit and when I asked him he said he felt his quad a little bit," said the Dutchman. "Then, for me, all alarm bells go off because in another sprint you never know if that is going to go good.
"It was also already a substitution I had in mind, maybe for a few minutes or a little bit later, because the right centre-back had a lot of ball possession and we needed to create from that position. We all know Ryan [Gravenberch] is quite good in that.
"It might be OK that he went off early enough but it was clear I had to take him off because he was limping."
Konaté was considered fit enough to link up with his international team-mates, though it seems he continues to battle the same issue.
Joe Gomez remains an option to step in, although he wasn't selected from the substitutes' bench against Chelsea following his own return from injury.
The Reds have already witnessed Giovanni Leoni sidelined for the remainder of the campaign after suffering an ACL tear during his first start.
The Italian prospect delivered an outstanding Carabao Cup performance before the devastating injury cast a shadow over his evening.
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