It appears to be mostly good news for Liverpool as four players with injury doubts looming over them prepare to link up with their national teams this month.
As it stands, Liverpool have seen 26 players called up for international duty in the final break of the season, including most of Jurgen Klopp‘s first team.
However, the manager cast doubt over Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo following their efforts against Man United on Sunday.
“Lucho felt his groin, Darwin [his] hamstring and Cody twisted his ankle. They play again in four or five days, it’s crazy,” Klopp told BBC Sport.
And with Ibrahima Konate not part of the squad for the FA Cup quarter-final defeat, it was unclear whether he would join up with France either.
But as the players begin to report for training ahead of various friendlies over the next fortnight, there seems to be mainly positive news.
The only ongoing concern is for Nunez, with Uruguay yet to release their final squad list for friendlies against the Basque Country (March 23) and Ivory Coast (March 26).
Initial reports in Uruguay claim that the 24-year-old has, however, been left out of Marcelo Bielsa’s selection as a result of the hamstring injury.
Whether it is a major concern for Liverpool though remains to be seen.
Per journalist Julien Froment, France manager Didier Deschamps told reporters on Monday that there were “no worries” over Konate following medical checks at Clairefontaine.
Meanwhile, Colombian outlet Noticias Caracol reports that Diaz’s groin issue was “nothing serious” and he reported to Colombia’s base in London as normal on Monday.
An update from the Dutch FA, confirming the withdrawal of Ajax striker Brian Brobbey from the Netherlands squad, also suggests that Gakpo has no major injury.
A statement on Monday afternoon explained that manager Ronald Koeman “does not call up a replacement, so the Dutch selection now consists of 25 players.”
If Gakpo was also due to pull out, Koeman would almost certainly be required to add at least one more forward to his ranks, but that does now appear to be the case.
Speaking in his post-match press conference on Sunday, Klopp expressed his hope that national team managers wouldn’t overburden his players this month.
“I think most of them have friendlies, Wataru, I think, has qualifiers but I cannot make these decisions for the managers, most of them we don’t speak the same language,” he told reporters.
“They want them in the best possible shape for the summer, most of them play [in summer tournaments], so I hope they don’t have to play two games, 90 minutes.”
