14 November 2023 , 13:08
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Liverpool have been boosted by news that Ibrahima Konate’s hamstring injury is not likely to keep him sidelined for a prolonged spell.
France head coach Didier Deschamps has allayed fears of a lengthy lay-off by saying his withdrawal from their squad to face Gibraltar and Greece was merely to avoid any risk-taking.
Les Bleus have already secured their place at next summer’s European Championships and considering Konate’s hamstring injury is a recurrence, Deschamps has said it was not in their interests to select the centre half, who missed Sunday's Premier League win over Brentford.
But he played down any concerns over Konate requiring a lengthy spell off and that will be music to the ears of Liverpool fans with Jurgen Klopp ’s side set to resume their campaign against champions Manchester City on November 25.
Deschamps said: “He felt something in his hamstring. He had tests, but it’s not serious. He needs a bit of time to not take any risks. It’s an area where he already has an injury. It wasn’t in his interest or mine [to call him up]. In the best of cases, he could have been training only Friday or Saturday.”
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Those comments will increase the chances of Konate, who missed games earlier in the season because of an injury to the same hamstring, being passed fit for City.
Klopp has already complained about the scheduling of Liverpool’s fixture against Pep Guardiola ’s side because both clubs’ South American players will still be battling jetlag.
The match was initially meant to kick off at 5:30pm on Saturday but was moved to an earlier slot for safety reasons. Recent meetings between the teams have seen unsavoury incidents among supporters, including both Anfield and the Etihad being vandalised and objects being thrown at rival supporters.
Speaking after Sunday’s win over Brentford at Anfield, Klopp said: “Now they are all gone and we can train once before Manchester City. How can you put a game like this on Saturday at 12.30pm?
"Honestly, the people making these decisions, they cannot feel football, it is just not possible. And it is the moment where the world pays the most to see a football game.
“These two teams could have, all together, about 30 international players. They all come back on the same plane by the way, all the South American players.
"They all fly back together, we put them on the plane from Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. One game, one plane, they all come back. We just have to make sure we are ready for this game.”