Jurgen Klopp has provided a positive update on the fitness of Ibrahima Konate after the defender missed Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
The France international was left out of the squad after being substituted during Thursday’s 5-1 win at Sparta Prague, though the issue is not understood to be serious.
Academy graduate Jarell Quansah deputised for the centre-back in the draw with the Premier League champions and impressed, though Klopp insists his team need their injured players back to compete on all fronts this season.
“Yes, but we need the players back. All the stories we created with the kids and stuff are wonderful, wonderful, I couldn’t be happier about that, but of course we fight for the biggest prize in football,” Klopp said at his post-match press conference.
“Today (Sunday), Ibou Konate is out then we start all three of our other centre-halves and if one goes down and we play in the next six days two games with two centre-halves which play all the time. All these kind of things are really tricky but we came through it, and that’s why I said we played really good football in that time and we were lucky in moments: winning late, fighting hard, 99th minute and 118th minute and stuff like this.
“We don’t take that for granted but today the performance was really like, ‘One or two players back, we can change like we changed, oh yeah, that is cool’ and that is why I am really happy about that today. Plus, what that means for the next game I have no idea, I don’t even know a little bit about the situation [and] if anybody feels more than tired. I didn’t ask yet, but it is just good information for me, that we can play like that. I’m really happy about that and now let’s see what we can do from here.
Asked whether Konate’s issue was serious, Klopp provided a positive update on the Frenchman and said Konate could be available for next weekend’s FA Cup tie at Manchester United.
“No, no. Ibou has a chance for United. A good chance.”
