Arne Slot has been left sweating over the fitness of Joe Gomez and Dominik Szoboszlai after the Liverpool pair both came off injured during Saturday’s defeat of Brighton.
Gomez started at right-back but lasted just 26 minutes of the match before going down off the ball. He received treatment on the pitch, but was promptly replaced by the recently reinstated Mohamed Salah.
Szoboszlai produced another impressive performance, but his match ended on a sour note as he landed awkwardly after jumping to dodge a collision. He appeared upset as he received treatment on the pitch and was forced off.
With a crunch meeting with Tottenham on the cards next weekend, Slot will hope to have as many first-team players available as possible.
Of Gomez, Slot explained: "If I have a player who goes off with a muscle injury like Joe, that's normally not a positive thing.
"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?'”
He continued, adding of Szoboszlai: “Dom, 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.”
While the injuries to Szoboszlai and Gomez are certainly blows, it was not all bad news for Liverpool on Saturday.