LIVERPOOL MANAGER JURGEN Klopp has admitted Joe Gomez will ‘probably’ require surgery as his return to fitness faces another setback.
The defender has been sidelined since early December when he suffered a fracture to his lower leg against Burnley.
The injury was supposed to rule Gomez out for up to six weeks , yet nearly two months later the 21-year-old has still not returned to action.
On Friday, Klopp confirmed it seemed unlikely that he would return to the side in time for the Reds’ Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich in a few weeks.
When asked whether Gomez would be fit for the clash on February 19, Klopp said : “I don’t think so. Not a realistic target. After that? We will see.
“Trent [Alexander-Arnold] and Joe are not fit. There is no return date for Joe,” he added.
However, the 51-year-old manager has since given a more worrying update since. When asked at his pre-match Friday press conference about rumours Gomez may require surgery, he said: “I don’t know. We will see. It is possible, probably.
“It is not exactly going how we want, that’s how it is. He needs more time. We will see exactly how we do it.
“There were different moments when we thought we could do this or that. It will take time. We can not say more.”
Should the defender require surgery it could rule him out for another few months, or perhaps, even until the end of the season.
Gomez had missed just two Premier League games before the injury against Burnley. He had become a key component of Liverpool’s impressive back four and with the former Charlton Athletic man in the side, the Reds conceded just five goals in 13 league matches.
Yet, in recent weeks the league leaders have not looked quite so resolute in defence. Liverpool have leaked eight goals in their last five outings and, as well as Gomez, Klopp has been without Alexander-Arnold, Dejan Lovren and James Milner, who at times deputises at full-back.
So bad has the situation at the back got, Klopp was forced to select Jordan Henderson as a makeshift right-back in Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw against Leicester City.
“Hendo did well there,” the former Dortmund coach told reporters amid criticism of the Reds captain. “Defensively, I did not see a mistake from Hendo, he added.
Liverpool return to action on Monday night when they travel to the London Stadium to play West Ham. A win for the Reds could potentially see them move 10 points clear of City, depending on their result against Arsenal on Sunday.
Simon Zebo joins Gavan and Murray for a special live recording of the podcast in Dublin’s Liberty Hall Theatre to preview Ireland’s Six Nations opener against England:
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