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Liverpool could be without 3 players vs. Newcastle with Arne Slot facing defensive injury crisis
Liverpool will be able to call upon the services of Ryan Gravenberch once again for Monday’s Premier League fixture against Newcastle United after the midfielder missed last week’s win over Bournemouth through suspension.
Slot admitted his absence “hurt” Liverpool and his involvement would likely have stymied the repeated Cherries’ counter-attacks that resulted in two opposition goals. He will certainly hope that is the case on Monday, with the Liverpool head coach implying Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister will start in the middle at St James Park.
But Slot will be without another fellow Dutchman against Newcastle. “The medical team was completely right about Jeremie [Frimpong] to take him off [against Bournemouth] because he's out until the end of the international break,” the 46-year-old.
That is certainly a blow for Slot, especially with his other right-back, Conor Bradley, also a doubt. The Northern Ireland international has not featured for the club since returning from the pre-season tour of Asia but trained with the team on Thursday.
His last on-field involvement came in July and it’s not clear at this stage whether Bradley will be available to play any part against Newcastle.
Even more alarmingly, Joe Gomez’s fitness is once again uncertain after he returned from injury last week and played 18 minutes against Bournemouth.
“For him to play 20 minutes [this season] is already quite a lot,” Slot said of Gomez.
"I wouldn’t say he had a setback, but he wasn't able to train with us three days in a row completely with the team, which is completely normal if you have been out for so long and all of a sudden the manager needs you for 20 minutes.
"He is training with the team, so let’s see where he is on Monday, if he can be involved in the team, or if he can even start. But there are other options.”
Those other options could include Wataru Endo or Dominik Szoboszlai, claimed the Liverpool head coach.
Frimpong, Bradley and Gomez are the only injury concerns for the Premier League champions, who will hope to earn back-to-back wins when they travel to the north-east.
As for Newcastle, it has no injury absences, with Joe Willock back in contention, while Jacob Ramsey and Malick Thiaw could make their Magpies debuts.
Alexander Isak remains unavailable as he continues to push for a move to Liverpool and is currently training away from the rest of the Newcastle squad.
Anthony Gordon is expected to play as a no.9, something Eddie Howe all but confirmed during his pre-match briefing.
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