Arne Slot has revealed that Ibrahima Konate’s withdrawal during Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea was injury-related.
The defender was taken off after 56 minutes, with Ryan Gravenberch moving alongside Virgil van Dijk for the remainder of the game. Liverpool later confirmed that Konate will undergo further assessment to determine the extent of his quadriceps problem.
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Slot explained: “I don’t know if it is a big injury, but he limped a little bit and said he felt his quad. Then, for me, all alarm bells go off because in another sprint you never know if that is going to go good. It might be OK that he went off early enough, but it was clear I had to take him off because he was limping.”
The Dutch manager also noted he was already considering the substitution for tactical reasons, adding that Gravenberch could provide more quality on the ball from deep.
Konate’s potential absence could deepen Liverpool’s defensive worries. With Jarell Quansah’s move to Bayer Leverkusen, the Reds are left with only three senior centre-backs Konate, Van Dijk, and Joe Gomez. Their late pursuit of Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi fell through, leaving them short of options.
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Slot has tested Gravenberch and Wataru Endo as makeshift centre-backs during pre-season and may have to rely on that experiment again if Konate is sidelined.
Liverpool’s backline has already come under scrutiny this season, keeping just two clean sheets — against Burnley and Arsenal. A further setback to Konate could pose serious challenges ahead of their post-international break fixtures against Manchester United and Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Frenchman, usually partnered with Dayot Upamecano for France, has been named in Didier Deschamps’ squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. However, Liverpool are expected to monitor his condition closely before releasing him for international duty.