Joel Matip's thigh injury huge blow for Liverpool; Klopp hoping van Dijk, Lovren stay fit

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Bengaluru, April 4: Liverpool’s Joel Matip has suffered a thigh injury which will keep him out for the rest of the season. This is pretty much a big blow to Liverpool as they still have to seal a Champions League spot and face Manchester City over two legs. Matip injured his thigh in the game against Crystal Palace and he continued to play the game without being substituted.

What was initially thought of as a dead leg has turned out to be an injury that requires surgery. The timing of the injury will leave Liverpool in a dire situation as they have Dejan Lovren as the only fit centre-back apart from Virgil van Dijk.

The other centre-back, Ragnar Klavan, has barely played a game since the January 1 this year. It is safe to say that Liverpool won’t be able to rest Lovren and van Dijk for the games in between the Champions League tie.

Though Joe Gomez could slot in at centre back, it would be a big gamble that Klopp would not be willing to take as they are so close to sealing a top-4 spot. However, even that choice seems out of reach for the time being as Gomez himself is nursing an injury after his time with the English national squad.

The other “outside the box” solution is to play Emre Can in that position as he has done it before for Brendan Rodgers. However, his back injury has left Liverpool out of that option as well.

Whatever happens, Liverpool must now pray that Lovren and van Dijk do not get injured. Lovren has just come back from a phase where he complained of taking 5 pills before every match just to play. Van Dijk, on the other hand, recovered from a big injury before joining Liverpool.

The Crystal Palace game swung in Liverpool’s favour after a tactical switch by Klopp. He replaced Adam Lallana with Dejan Lovren and they played with a back three, which freed the wing-backs to fire up the pitch. This helped them secure the crucial goal through an assist from the left-wing-back Andy Robertson.

With Adam Lallana, Emre Can, Joe Gomez and now Joel Matip injured, could this be something that affects Liverpool at such a crucial juncture. Only time will tell.