23 December 2023 , 20:52
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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that defender Kostas Tsimikas will be “out for a long time” after breaking his collarbone following a challenge from Arsenal ’s Bukayo Saka at Anfield.
Tsimikas was forced off 10 minutes before half-time after a coming together with Saka, who pushed the Greek left-back into Klopp on the edge of his technical area, sending the Reds manager to the ground.
Saka has issued an apology for causing the injury, which saw Tsimikas rushed to hospital. Andy Robertson, Liverpool ’s first-choice left-back, has been absent since October after a dislocating his shoulder on international duty with Scotland, with Joe Gomez coming on in the position in Sunday’s 1-1 draw.
Klopp said: “I would happily give my collarbone for him to be fit again. It is not cool when something like that happens in front of you and you are involved in that, I was not sure what even happened or if I fell on him. It is not nice to see.
Elaborating on the game, he then added: “It was massively overshadowed by Kostas Tsimikas collarbone issue, definitely broken, so he is out for a long time.”
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Saka wasn’t booked for the challenge, and later sent his well-wishes to Tsimikas. The Gunners star said: "I've heard he's gone to hospital, I want to apologise. For me, it was just a 50/50 I've gone shoulder-to-shoulder, I didn't see he went into Jurgen Klopp. I was focused on the ball because I didn't think it was a foul."
After an initially slow start, the Greek has impressed this season as Robertson’s deputy. Liverpool have young left-backs Luke Chambers and Calum Scanlon in reserve, but Gomez is now set to become the first choice in the position in the coming weeks.
The Reds were left to rue a missed chance from Trent Alexander-Arnold as they ended up having to settle for a point from a frenetic affair.
Gunners defender Gabriel headed home the opener from a Martin Odegaard free-kick after just four minutes, and after Odegaard escaped giving away a penalty when he handled in the area, Mo Salah grabbed Liverpool’s equaliser after beating Oleksandr Zinchenko and blasting home.
The point keeps Arsenal top of the Premier League for Christmas, one point ahead of Liverpool and Aston Villa.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said: “An unbelievable game of football, one of the most intense I’ve witnessed in 20 years in this league. For many moments we were on top, in the last 20 minutes we wanted it more, but a draw is a fair result.
“We were determined to attack and cause them problems. They are a team who cause chaos, they are so vertical and direct. They are the best in the world at doing that.
“I’m happy to be where we are. Tomorrow we have a beautiful dinner with our families, then back to work.”