Liverpool FC boss Jurgen Klopp has cast doubt over the injured duo of Jordan Henderson and Joel Matip being fit for the Merseyside club’s opening Premier League fixture against Leeds United.
The Reds’ begin their league title defense against the Premier League new-boys on 12th September, however, Klopp may be unable to call upon the services of both Henderson and Matip, with the pair having sustained significant injuries towards the end of last season.
The Reds skipper is set to stage a return to first-team training after Jurgen Klopp’s side’s defeat to Arsenal in the FA Community shield over the last weekend. Henderson had taken part in solo warm-up sessions at Liverpool FC’s pre-season training camp that had taken place in Austria in August.
Klopp indicated his hesitation in confirming the 30-year old midfielder’s presence for the game against Leeds in a recent interview, with the German stating that a closer look at the player’s fitness will have to be observed prior to the match.
“For that we have to see when he trains.”
“I think Joel and Hendo will be in parts of team training next week and we will see. Of course, the longer they have the better the chance is, but I don’t know in this moment.”
As for Matip, the Cameroon international has been missing from action since Liverpool FC’s first game of Project Restart last season, the goalless Merseyside Derby in mid-June. In the center-backs absence, Joe Gomez has been partnered alongside Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the Reds’ defense by Klopp.
