Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are expected to line up on Sunday at Anfield in the high-billed Premier League game against Manchester United without Joel Matip manning the heart of the Merseysiders’ backline.
Reports from the Daily Mail claim that the 29-year-old Matip has not staged a return to first-team training in the aftermath of him sustaining an adductor injury during Liverpool FC’s 1-1 draw at home to West Brom and the defender looks certain to miss out on the weekend clash.
Matip’s sidelining would further add to Klopp’s headache on the injury front for the defending champions, with the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez both ruled out for quite potentially the remainder of the ongoing top-flight season.
An injury-depleted backline could force the Reds gaffer to resort back to fielding Jordan Henderson at the heart of the four-man defence as the skipper had done so in last week’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of Southampton.
Nat Phillips and 19-year-old starlet Rhys Williams are the only two other options that can be drafted into the centre-back role alongside Fabinho should Matip’s absence for Sunday’s fixture be subject to further confirmation from the Merseyside outfit.
