Liverpool without five players for Brighton trip after fallout from Spurs defeat
Jurgen Klopp has been handed a selection headache after Curtis Jones lost his appeal against his red card against Tottenham.
Jones was sent off in the incident-packed 2-1 loss for Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday. The Liverpool midfielder saw his initial yellow card for a challenge on Yves Bissouma upgraded to a red after intervention from the VAR in the 26th minute.
Liverpool appealed against the decision, but found out on Tuesday that their case has been rejected, meaning Jones will now serve a three-match ban in the Premier League. While he could feature against Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League on Thursday, he is unavailable for the trip to play Brighton on Sunday.
Diogo Jota is also suspended for the Seagulls game, having also been sent off against Spurs. Jota picked up two yellow cards in as many minutes in the second half in north London to leave Liverpool with nine men.
He will now serve a one-match suspension, meaning he will be able to return for the Merseyside Derby on October 21. Jones will miss that game, as well as the Premier League game against Nottingham Forest on October 29, before being eligible to return against Luton on November 5.
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The two suspensions are major blows for Klopp, who also has injuries to contend with. Cody Gakpo went down injured in first-half stoppage time at Spurs and was substituted at half-time. He was later seen limping and wearing a brace and Klopp was gutted to lose him.
He said: "The biggest problem of the game, to be honest... before Cody Gakpo scored, we got a free-kick and he got injured and he is now with a brace limping down the corridor. That's my biggest problem, to be honest, in this moment. We lost two [to red cards] and maybe a third player - really bad, really bad. So, yes, that's something we have to deal with obviously."
Cody Gakpo is out injured for Liverpool (HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)Asked if it was a bad injury, he added: "Possibly, I don't know. He wore a brace. He scored a goal but afterwards, but after that shot he felt it even more. It was from the foul before."
Liverpool are also without the injured duo of Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara. Bajcetic came back from a long-term injury, but has suffered a minor calf problem, which Liverpool are being careful not to exacerbate.
“We try everything to get him up to speed without pushing him,” Klopp said. “We make a very specific plan for him but in the end it's disappointing for him, of course, but for us as well that he got another one. So we have to take him out a little bit. He can work on pretty much everything else but not playing. That's it, I would say.”
Thiago is still missing with a long-term hip problem, which has kept him out for the entire season so far.
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