10 November 2023 , 10:32
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Andy Robertson being ruled out until the New Year appears to be increasingly impacting Liverpool's season following their shock Europa League defeat in Toulouse on Thursday.
The Reds were beaten 3-2 by the French outfit, just two weeks after hammering the same side 5-1 at Anfield. And the game seemingly turned on a glaring error from Kostas Tsimikas shortly before half-time, the man charged with replacing Robertson during his injury lay-off.
Tsimikas was caught in possession by Toulouse's Aron Donnum, who then surged forward and scored via a deflected shot from inside the area. The moment compounded the recent struggles of the Greek international, who has failed to impress since coming back into the starting XI last month.
Indeed, commentating on TNT Sports, former Liverpool player Steve McManaman was scathing in his assessment. "It was poor from Tsimikas, just fell asleep and allowed the opposition to get into the game," he said. "A very unlikely lead for the home side, and not a good look at all from the Liverpool left-back. Really disappointing play."
Joe Gomez and Luke Chambers have both also been handed opportunities in Robertson's role, but with limited success. And with Jurgen Klopp unable to sign reinforcements until January at the earliest, the manager is reliant on Tsimikas being able to turn his form around.
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The player arrived from Olympiakos in the summer of 2020 in a deal worth £11.75million. He's since made 70 club appearances, and briefly elevated himself to cult hero status at Anfield by scoring the winning spot-kick in the 2022 FA Cup final shootout against Chelsea.
Andy Robertson could miss until 2024 with a shoulder injury (Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY! Is Konstantinos Tsimikas up to it? Comment below.
The Reds host Brentford on Saturday before the international break. But their next away game is at Manchester City on November 25, a game where Klopp's side can ill-afford to be below-par defensively.
And Robertson will still be absent by the time a pivotal pre-Christmas period comes around. In a frenzied 10 days, Liverpool have home games with Manchester United either side of a Carabao Cup tie with West Ham, before going to Burnley on Boxing Day.
The 29-year-old Robertson hasn't featured for club or country since being forced off in Scotland's 2-0 defeat in Spain in October. He subsequently had surgery and Liverpool have since been coy on his potential return date in 2024.