Having played every minute of every Premier League match since the start of the season, it was a bit of a surprise when Liverpool fullback Nathaniel Clyne was left out of the meeting with Manchester United at the weekend. A rib injury picked up midweek against former club Southampton ended up being the problem and though the defender is on the mend, he won’t be considered for the FA Cup replay with Plymouth Argyle tomorrow.
“It’s getting better. With Nathaniel, it was a muscle between the ribs. Everybody who has ever bruised their ribs knows OK, sometimes you think it’s better broken,” explained Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp in his pre-match press conference. “It’s really painful, but now we know after a scan that there is nothing else and each day helps him to settle and get back on the pitch, if you want,” added the German manager, hinting that he could face Swansea City at the weekend. “So we give him for sure, we have to, two or three more days and then hopefully he can start running and all that stuff.”
With a whole slew of matches on the horizon, it’s unlikely that Clyne would have been risked against the Pilgrims anyways, but Lucas — who is struggling for minutes on the fringes of the side — would have been a a prime candidate to run out at Home Park. With a sore knee hampering his chances of facing Plymouth, Klopp will have to make a last minute call on whether or not the Brazilian will feature.
“His knee was swollen and that’s never a good sign, but in this case it was on the better side of the bad news,” said the Liverpool manager when asked about Lucas. “Again, it’s only a bruise but then you have to wait until the swelling is away and wait for if something is coming back and all that stuff, and that’s what we did,” added Klopp. “He’s very positive, so maybe he can be on the pitch today, I’m not sure, we will see. If [he is], we will try to push it as hard as we can.”
