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The sight of Joe Gomez clutching his hamstring before coming off during the first half of Liverpool’s Premier League meeting with West Ham was not a welcome one.
Gomez was brought off in the 36th minute of the encounter at the London Stadium, and the giveaway that it was a muscle injury was how quickly the decision was taken to withdraw the defender after he signalled to the bench that he had a problem.
Jarell Quansah came on in his place, and it looks as though he may be the player who partners Virgil van Dijk for next weekend’s meeting with Manchester United too.
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Gomez, of course, came into the side at the beginning of December having barely played in the opening few months of the season. His chance came about after Ibrahima Konate sustained a knee injury during the Champions League win over Real Madrid at the end of November which ruled the Frenchman out until the new year.
Gomez slotted in seamlessly, but his injury has left many Reds fans wondering when Konate might be ready to return. Arne Slot was asked about when Konate and fellow injured defender Conor Bradley could return to the squad after the Boxing Day win against Leicester.
Slot confirmed that neither man would be available for the trip to West Ham, but suggested that both players would have more of a chance of being available for the visit of Manchester United on January 5, although he would offer no guarantees.
“They will not be back for West Ham United,” remarked the Reds’ head coach. “Then there is a week in between (before the match against Manchester United). Let’s see how close they are then. It is difficult to tell you at this moment because they don’t train with the group yet.”