Liverpool have suffered a set back with the news that Jeremie Frimpong will miss the club’s next two fixtures before the international break.
Arne Slot’s men take on Newcastle United this weekend in what promises to be a heated affair amid the on-going transfer saga surrounding Alexander Isak.
During the pre-match press conference, Slot updated the media on his current squad status. Here is the injury and team news ahead of the trip to St. James Park.
Jeremie Frimpong – hamstring injury blow
The news that summer signing Jeremie Frimpong is out with a hamstring injury will be a big blow to Slot, and cause a headache in the right-back role. With Conor Bradley having picked up a minor injury in pre-season, the Dutch head coach is left with little options as cover.
Frimpong had impressed during pre-season, and started both competitive games so far this season. However, the Dutch international was withdrawn from the action against Bournemouth after 60 minutes, something Slot was initially criticised for, but now appears to have been a wise decision.
Speaking of the injury, Slot confirmed the timeline for Frimpong’s expected return.
“The medical team was complete right about Jeremie [Frimpong], to tell me that I had to take him off because he’s out until the end of the international break.
I think I got criticised a bit for taking him off, didn’t I? And I already said immediately after the game that it had nothing to do with how he played. [The medical team] felt that he had an issue in his hamstring and they were completely right.
[It was a] good call to take him off because otherwise he would have been out for longer. We expect to have him back after the international break.”
Conor Bradley – back in training
A minor injury in pre-season resulted in the Northern Ireland international sitting out of Liverpool’s final two friendlies, and he wasn’t included in either the Community Shield or Premier League squads against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.
Slot provided a small update on Bradley’s status, reporting the right-back has now started training alongside the senior team, albeit hesitantly.
“Conor [Bradley] trained for a few minutes with us today, for the first time.”
Joe Gomez – race against time
Defender Joe Gomez returned to action as a 72nd minute substitute against Bournemouth following an injury that saw him return home early from the club’s pre-season tour of Asia.
However, that may have been a step too far with the news that the England international struggled to train regularly this week.
“For [Gomez] to already play twenty minutes, that was already quite a lot. I wouldn’t say he had a set back, but he wasn’t able to train three days in a row with the team. He’s training with the team, but let’s see where he on Monday, if he can be involved in the team or even start.”
Giovanni Leoni – settling in
The Reds confirmed the transfer of Giovanni Leoni late last week, joining from Parma for £26 million. The Italian was at Anfield for the opening Premier League match against Bournemouth and has now had almost a week to settle in to his new surroundings.
Leoni isn’t expected to play a key role in the trip to Newcastle, but Slot provided a positive outlook for the 18-year-old.
“He’s trained with us three times now. If you look at his transfer fee you can expect that he’s already quite grown up for his age, and that’s exactly what I saw.
He comes in as an 18-year-old just playing with his new teammates as if he’s been here for longer. [He’s] impressive if you look at how tall he is, fast, comfortable on the ball.
There’s a reason why we paid the transfer fee as we did, because we see him as a bright prospect.”
