Arne Slot has provided brief updates on Dominik Szoboszlai and Joe Gomez‘s fitness, while commenting that Hugo Ekitike “couldn’t walk any more.”
Gomez was forced off after just 25 minutes against Brighton as the defender suffered a muscle injury.
After the match, Slot told Liverpoolfc.com: “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]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?’”
Szoboszlai was another to come out of the game with an issue, appearing to go over on his ankle before coming off in the 83rd minute.
“It was his ankle,” said Slot. “It didn’t look great when I just saw him, but he has unbelievable mentality so let’s hope for the best.”
Additionally, the head coach confirmed Jeremie Frimpong would be back in training next week after nearly two months out with a hamstring injury.
Hugo Ekitike “couldn’t walk anymore”
Slot deployed Ekitike up front at Anfield and, for the second Premier League in a row, the 23-year-old scored twice.
He looked spritely and was a constant danger, but he came off in the 78th minute as Alexander Isak replaced him up front.
After the match, Slot explained: “I think just before I took him off, there was a moment. I don’t know what happened but I think he hardly couldn’t walk anymore because of cramp.”
As a general rule, players ideally shouldn’t be getting cramp with 10 minutes to play in the winter time.
However, it wasn’t the first time the Reds have had cramp-related problems this season, with Milos Kerkez also going down for treatment late on against Brighton.
“What I see with him and I see this with all the players we brought in this summer, they have to adapt to the Premier League to that intensity,” Slot said.
“All the players we brought in are young players except for Alex (Isak) maybe, but all the others are very young.
“So adapting to the Premier League at that intensity – some of them had not to adapt to the Premier League but to Premier League and Champions League – and I see all of them making progress in that.
“So Hugo had cramp today, but I can assure you that he did probably twice as much as in a game in the beginning of the season when I had to take him off with cramp as well, and that is what this league brings.
“If you cannot be so intense for such a long time, it’s so hard to win a game of football because the best players [and] athletes in the world play in this league, and we are trying to prepare them more and more, better and better for that.
“And I can see the progress with most of our signings, I think almost all of them, maybe all of them.”
Due to Liverpool losing to Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup, they have no quarter-final tie this week and now have seven days until their next match, away at Tottenham on December 20.
Hopefully, the Reds should be fully recovered by then, with the return of Conor Bradley from suspension somewhat offsetting Gomez’s injury.
