Napoli could be without both Victor Osimhen and Diego Demme for Liverpool’s upcoming visit to Italy in their Champions League group stage opener.
This comes courtesy of Italian outlet Calciomercato, which suggests that the former is a doubt for the tie in question having undergone ‘custom work’ (as per a Google translation of the piece), whilst the latter’s recovery from a foot concern remains ongoing.
The Merseysiders will make the trip to Naples in midweek, bearing a considerable injury list of their own recently engorged by Fabio Carvalho’s dead leg suffered in the goalless stalemate at Goodison Park.
As things stand, it seems unlikely that the Reds will be with the talented 20-year-old come Wednesday, likely forcing Jurgen Klopp to opt for the experience of James Milner in the middle of the park whilst Arthur Melo continues to adapt to his new surroundings.
There’s no question that the loss of the 23-year-old Nigerian will hurt our upcoming opponents dearly – not least of all given that the striker (who registered 18 goals in 32 games last term, across all competitions, was the) was Gli Azzurri’s joint-top scorer in Europe in 2021/22.
As ever, of course, we at the Empire of the Kop hope to see the forward back in action in time for the Champions League opener.
#Ep58 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Rating Liverpool’s UCL group, making a new signing… & more!