After pulling up with a hamstring problem during the first half of Liverpool’s win over Leicester City on Boxing Day, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has ruled out striker Divock Origi from Wednesday trip to Sunderland, but he still doesn’t know the extent of the problem picked up by the 19-year old.
“I cannot say too much about Divock because at this moment I don’t have the results of the scan, so we have to wait a few more minutes because the press conference is a little bit too early for this information,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “If there is no miracle or something like this then he is not available for the next game, so we have to find a solution for this.”
Christian Benteke, who started on the bench against the Foxes, could be drafted back in to the starting eleven after bagging the winner on Saturday, but the Belgian could be overlooked once again with Klopp often opting to deploy Roberto Firmino as a striker. Should the Brazilian be called upon to lead the line, Jordon Ibe could earn himself an immediate recall, but the boss confirmed that James Milner is still not fit enough to play any part in the meeting with the Black Cats.
“Jordon Ibe has been back in training since yesterday,” said Klopp, confirming that the 19-year should be back in contention for the trip to the Stadium of Light. “He was sick and had a few problems for nearly a week. We will have to see. Yesterday was completely normal training, but we’ll have to wait on how he reacts to this,” he continued before switching gears to vice-captain James Milner who won’t be back until early in the New Year. “I think from the game [against Leicester] we have no other problems. Millie [James Milner] will start pitch sessions, not with the team but outside tomorrow. Then he needs a week and should be available.”
