Liverpool are set to be without a number of players when they take on Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday
Liverpool could be left without as many as seven senior players when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. Arne Slot bemoaned only having 13 available outfield players ahead of the Reds’ clash with Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend.
And while a Hugo Ekitike brace was enough to see Slot's side run out 2-0 winners, the victory came at a price as the Dutchman also saw his options depleted further.
Joe Gomez was forced off midway through the first half with a hamstring injury, while Dominik Szoboszlai limped off late on after injuring his ankle. And while Mohamed Salah came on to replace the former, Liverpool will now be without the Egyptian, too, after he departed for Africa Cup of Nations duty.
Slot was only able to name an eight-man bench rather than the maximum permitted nine against the Seagulls. And even then, his reserve options included two players who are yet to feature in the Premier League in Wellity Lucky and Calvin Ramsay.
Liverpool will at least be able to welcome Conor Bradley back for the trip to North London in the Reds’ final outing before Christmas after he missed the win over Brighton through suspension.
But Slot will likely have to turn the club’s academy again to fill his matchday squad due to his side’s ongoing injury woes.
He has already confirmed that he expects Gomez to miss the trip to Tottenham, while Szoboszlai is also a doubt.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if Jeremie Frimpong will be available as he closes in on a return, having been sidelined with a hamstring injury since the end of October.
"If I have a player who goes off with a muscle injury like Joe (Gomez), that's normally not a positive thing,” Slot told the club after beating Brighton. "I would not expect him to be in the squad next week [at Tottenham Hotspur]. But sometimes you get a positive surprise.
"People now maybe understand a bit better why I was always so cautious not to play him so many games. I assume many people thought, 'If you have a defender, if you have a right full-back, why don't you play him?'
"And Dom (Szoboszlai), it was his ankle. It didn't look great when I just saw him. But he has unbelievable mentality so let's hope for the best.
"The good thing is that Conor Bradley comes back from a suspension and normally Jeremie Frimpong will train with us also.
"But we're also going to miss Mo (Salah) because he is going to go to the Africa Cup of Nations."
Liverpool are already without Cody Gakpo and Wataru Endo after Slot confirmed last week they are both set to be sidelined for a number of weeks with muscle and ankle injuries respectively.
Elsewhere, Giovanni Leoni remains a long-term absentee after being ruled out for the season after undergoing surgery on an ACL injury suffered during his debut for the club back in September.
Meanwhile, it is unclear why Trey Nyoni was not included in the matchday squad to face Brighton, while the likes of youngsters Stefan Bajcetic, Jayden Danns (both hamstring) and Kaide Gordon (meniscus) are also still sidelined because of injury.