Jurgen Klopp will have calmed fans’ fears somewhat with his pre-Atletico Madrid comments after informing reporters in his press conference that Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara ‘trained completely normal and are in contention’.
Following his hamstring injury in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Brighton, however, the Reds look set to be without the Guinean international’s services for some amount of time.
Jurgen Klopp says Naby Keita [hamstring] "will be out for a while."
Says Fabinho & Thiago "trained completely normal and are in contention."#LFC
— Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) November 2, 2021
With the Merseysiders’ midfield options looking somewhat threadbare after the No.8 limped off the Anfield turf in the first-half of the clash with Graham Potter’s men, it’s a potentially huge boost in the buildup to the upcoming Champions League fixture.
Given how weak the midfield looked without Fabinho around to shield the back four, the idea of facing Los Colchoneros with a combination containing Jordan Henderson, Curtis Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will understandably not appeal to some fans.
The latter is certainly a quality player on his day but is in desperate need of regular minutes to build confidence.
Regardless of who makes the cut for the tie in question, however, we’ll be backing them to the hilt to help take us into the next round of the competition.