Jurgen Klopp has hinted that Liverpool could have one player back fit in time to feature against Arsenal on Saturday.
Ryan Gravenberch was withdrawn during the 0-0 draw against Manchester United last weekend with a suspected hamstring injury, although Pep Lijnders subsequently allayed those fears when instead claiming that the 21-year-old was merely fatigued.
The midfielder didn’t play in the 5-1 win over West Ham last night, but he could be in line to return for the top-of-the-table showdown against the Gunners at Anfield.
Speaking to BBC 5 Live after the Carabao Cup clash as he looked ahead to the Arsenal game, Klopp said [via Liverpool World]: “Maybe Ryan will be back.”
With Alexis Mac Allister, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic all out injured, Klopp needs as many midfield options as possible for the crucial showdown on Saturday, which’ll be Liverpool’s fourth match in 10 days, with a trip to Burnley also on the horizon 72 hours later.
Wataru Endo and Dominik Szoboszlai are both likely to start against the Gunners, while Curtis Jones may have also played his way into the team with two goals last night. Therefore, Gravenberch might have to settle for a place among the substitutes if he’s fit enough to feature at the weekend.
Even if that’s the case, though, simply having him to call upon would be most welcome for the Reds, whose subs’ bench on Wednesday featured several under-21 players to atone for the numerous first-team injury absences.
Klopp would likely have rotated the team even more last night if he’d had the scope to do so, and the Dutch midfielder has largely been impressive since joining from Bayern Munich at the start of September.
Fingers crossed he’ll be available to at least be included in the matchday squad against Arsenal.
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