Jurgen Klopp delivers Ibrahima Konate update after Sparta Prague triumph
With Virgil van Dijk enjoying a well-earned rest, Konate and Jarell Quansah formed the central barrier in front of Caoimhin Kelleher at epet Arena, where Liverpool's defence repeatedly came under the cosh in the first half.
The Reds' rearguard remained unbroken at the half-time break, but just a few minutes after the restart, Konate went down and could not continue, being replaced by Van Dijk for the remainder of the match.
Konate's withdrawal quickly sparked concern about his availability for the weekend's crunch Premier League clash with Manchester City, where Jurgen Klopp could already have up to 10 players unavailable due to various fitness problems.
Speaking to the press after the game, though, Klopp revealed that the former RB Leipzig man «should be fine», although he is still in the dark about the severity of his issue as the Reds prepare to fly back to England.
«We don't know [yet]. Ibou said to me when he passed me in that moment, 'I thought if I do another sprint then it could be bad.' So, he said he should be fine, but we don't know,» Klopp said.
Prior to Konate's withdrawal, Joe Gomez was also taken off at half time for Conor Bradley, but Klopp confirmed that the Englishman's switch was pre-planned, adding: «Joey is fine. We took him off, he played a lot of games so that was more rotation, precaution. Now let's see what is with Ibou.»
After coming off the bench to replace Gomez, Bradley's first act was to steer the ball into the top corner of his own net, but Liverpool had already built up a healthy three-goal lead
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