Darwin Nunez won’t be involved with Uruguay during the international break due to injury, but the Liverpool striker isn’t expected to be sidelined for too long.
Jurgen Klopp revealed after the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United on Sunday that the 24-year-old incurred a hamstring issue at Old Trafford, which may have prompted fears among Reds supporters that our number 9 would miss out on a portion of the run-in to the campaign.
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However, it seems that he could be in line to regain full fitness by the time we play again (Brighton at home on 31 March), judging by an update from Fabrizio Romano on X this afternoon.
The Italian posted: “Darwin Núñez will not be part of Uruguay squad for the upcoming games due to physical issues. Understand he has no serious injury but Darwin already suffered problems in the last week and will recover in Liverpool in the next 10 days.”
🚨🇺🇾 Darwin Núñez will not be part of Uruguay squad for the upcoming games due to physical issues.
Understand he has no serious injury but Darwin already suffered problems in the last week and will recover in Liverpool in the next 10 days. pic.twitter.com/N75rWRk2pr
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 18, 2024
Having missed three games due to a muscle issue in late February (Transfermarkt), it initially seemed worrying when Klopp spoke of Nunez suffering a hamstring problem at Old Trafford yesterday.
Thankfully, there seems a possibility that he won’t miss any action for Liverpool if his recovery period falls entirely within the international break, and not jetting off to play in two friendlies for Uruguay should help.
The Reds’ fixture schedule has been relentless in recent weeks, so the upcoming fortnight provides a welcome opportunity for the 24-year-old to work on his fitness on Merseyside during a rare hiatus in our season.
All going well, Nunez will be primed and ready to take on Brighton on Easter Sunday and hopefully pick up where he’s left off in terms of goalscoring form, having netted six times in his last seven matches (Transfermarkt).
Against Brighton, play the academy players first, and just bring him in in the second half. This is how it should have been done with UTD, and what should be done with as many starters until the April UTD match.