Darwin Nunez was ruled out of Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace owing to the return of the shoulder concern first picked up in the 2-0 win over Newcastle earlier in the month.
Jurgen Klopp confirmed there was ‘no chance’ for the player to make an appearance against Patrick Vieira’s men, though played down the severity of the injury and suggested fans could see the Uruguayan back as soon as the ‘midweek’, as was relayed on Empire’s Twitter account and the BBC.
🗣️ "Darwin had the shoulder problem from the Newcastle game.
"[It] worked out for the Real Madrid game but then [he] got another knock there, felt it again and more so there was no chance for today. Hopefully he can be [back] in midweek again."Klopp on Nunez 🚑 #LFC pic.twitter.com/frkXiQZsxk
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) February 25, 2023
🤕 Jurgen Klopp says Darwin Nunez got another knock on the shoulder the forward injured at #NUFC last weekend
⚽️ The #LFC manager adds that he hopes Nunez can be back for Wednesday's match against #Wolves at Anfield
🔴 Joe Gomez misses out tonight through injury
#⃣ #CRYLIV pic.twitter.com/BIKvQXRHMr
— BBC Sport Merseyside (@bbcmerseysport) February 25, 2023
The 23-year-old was on target in the middle of the week as a stunning opening salvo from the Reds against Real Madrid saw them take a 2-0 lead at Anfield in the opening 20 minutes.
The former Benfica man is without question set to play a very serious role in a potential rebuild, so we’ll be hoping for him to get as many match minutes as possible under Klopp ahead of a summer of change.
Nunez is increasingly finding his feet in English football, whilst suffering from a remarkable degree of criticism from pundits owing to his impatience in front of goal.
Regardless of what the critics feel, it’s hard not to feel massively excited about a player that’s registered 16 goal contributions in 29 games within a fundamentally dysfunctional XI.