Jurgen Klopp has ruled two Liverpool players out of contention to feature against Fulham in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
The Reds manager gave an early team news update in his pre-match press conference this afternoon ahead of the Cottagers’ visit to Anfield.
Alongside stating that Diogo Jota is a doubt for the game due to a knock, the German said (via LFC official website): “Bobby [Firmino is] training, he looks good, not ready for the game, but is doing more and more so [we are] waiting for him in team training again. Pretty much the same for Naby [Keita].
“I think that’s it pretty much. Of course the long-term injuries, they are not involved.”
The two players namechecked by Klopp join longer-term absentees Calvin Ramsay and Stefan Bajcetic in missing the Fulham clash (Premier Injuries).
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With both Firmino and Keita seeing their contracts expire next month (Transfermarkt), opportunities to see them in a Liverpool shirt are becoming extremely limited, with just four more matches left after tomorrow.
The wait goes on for the Guinea midfielder, who hasn’t played for the Reds since the 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace in late February and whose five years at Anfield have unfortunately been littered with a succession of injury problems (Transfermarkt).
As for the Brazilian, his absence along with Jota potentially being unavailable could leave Klopp with just four attackers from which to choose.
With Luis Diaz getting his first start on Sunday since coming back from six months out with a knee injury, his minutes may need to be managed, which could open the door for Darwin Nunez to come into the starting XI for the first time since the goalless draw away to Chelsea four weeks ago (WhoScored).
It’ll be frustrating for Klopp not to have either Firmino or Keita available to face Fulham, but his comments suggest that they aren’t far away from being able to feature, so we might see them involved against Brentford on Saturday, all going well.
You can see the manager’s press conference in full below, via Liverpool FC on YouTube: