Jurgen Klopp has explained the events around substituting Dominik Szoboszlai during Liverpool’s 4-2 win over Newcastle, with concern over a hamstring injury.
Though some of his passes were slack, Szoboszlai was a driving force for the Reds in a dominant display against Newcastle – until he was brought off in the 64th minute.
Part of a triple substitution that also saw Darwin Nunez and the impressive Luis Diaz come off, there was immediate concern as the Hungarian walked off clutching his hamstring.
Klopp confirmed this in his post-match press conference, telling journalists he was yet to learn the extent of the issue.
“We wanted to take him off, that was the plan,” he explained.
“Unfortunately [the pre-planned change] was a minute late, because in the last situation he felt the hamstring.
“Now we don’t know the extent of it, we have to wait.”
Szoboszlai is likely to undergo a scan later this week to discover whether he is set for a spell on the sidelines, which would be the latest in a long line of injuries this season.
Andy Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas, Joel Matip, Thiago, Stefan Bajcetic and Ben Doak are currently out, while Alexis Mac Allister returned from a lengthy layoff in the New Year’s Day win.
Any time out for Szoboszlai would be particularly frustrating given the imminent departures of Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo on international duty.
The No. 8 was expected to be one of the candidates to fill in for Salah on the right wing, while he is undoubtedly key to maintaining balance in midfield as Mac Allister takes over from Endo.
As it stands, the hope will be that Szoboszlai’s issue is more fatigue, as was the case when Ryan Gravenberch complained of hamstring pain in last month’s 0-0 draw with Man United.
