Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is hopeful that Dejan Lovren’s injury relapse against RB Salzburg in the Champions League will not be the start of a long-term concern.
Lovren, once again, had to be replaced by Joe Gomez in Tuesday night’s impressive 2-0 win for The Reds in Austria. The Croatian defender was also substituted in the first half of Liverpool’s 3-0 victory at Bournemouth on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Lovren was passed fit to start against RB Salzburg and he put in another good performance alongside Virgil van Dijk at the heart of Liverpool’s back-four. However, he had to be withdrawn after 53 minutes of the match.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Klopp said that he believes it was a recurrence of the same injury that ended Lovren’s involvement at Bournemouth.
“We hope that it’s exactly the same as last time. He felt something and we made the decision. It’s of course not cool.
“He played really well and was very important. We don’t know more in the moment. It felt similar like last time, that’s it. We have to see.”
With Joel Matip still not back to full fitness, Lovren’s availability is vital for Liverpool during December as the team faces a lot of games in the next two to three weeks. This schedule includes a hugely important top-of-the-table clash at Leicester City on Boxing Day.
Next up for Jurgen Klopp’s Redmen is a home fixture with Watford in what will be Nigel Pearson’s first game in charge of The Hornets.
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