Liverpool handed injury scare as key defender withdraws from international duty

Chirag Sharatkumar

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Liverpool handed injury scare as key defender withdraws from international duty image

Liverpool’s injury concerns have deepened as another key defender has been forced to withdraw from international duty due to injury.

Arne Slot’s side are already stretched thin at the back, having lost 18-year-old centre-back Giovanni Leoni to an anterior cruciate ligament injury on his debut against Southampton in the EFL Cup last month.

That setback left Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, and Joe Gomez as the only fit first-team central defenders in the squad.

To make matters worse, first-choice goalkeeper Alisson has been sidelined until November.

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Giorgi Mamardashvili made his Premier League debut in his place before the international break, but the Reds’ struggles continued as they fell to a third consecutive defeat across all competitions.

And now, Slot faces another blow as Konate has withdrawn from France’s squad on Saturday (October 11), leaving the Reds with even fewer defensive options.

Konate suffers another setback

Konate was forced off with a thigh injury 56 minutes into Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea before the international break, prompting Slot to push Ryan Gravenberch into a makeshift center-back role.

While it initially seemed the Frenchman had recovered enough to travel for France’s World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Iceland, those plans have since changed.

The French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed on Saturday that Konate had not recovered sufficiently and would be unavailable for France’s clash with Iceland on Monday (October 13), after he did not feature in Les Bleus’ 3-0 win over Azerbaijan on Friday (October 10).

As things stand, the 25-year-old now faces a race against time to be fit for Liverpool’s next fixture – a high-profile Premier League clash against Manchester United at Anfield on October 19.

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Chirag Sharatkumar

Chirag Sharatkumar is a freelance writer for The Sporting News, with a focus on the Premier League, international football, and global fan culture. He also has extensive experience with the Stats Perform news agency and is a keen long-form sport and culture writer and storyteller. His work can be found on the pages of MUNDIAL Magazine and across various Substack platforms.