Liverpool have been rocked by an injury blow shortly before their pre-season friendly against AC Milan in Hong Kong today.
The Reds brought a 29-player squad with them to the Far East for their tour to Asia, with Federico Chiesa the high-profile omission as club chiefs felt that he’d be better off staying put on Merseyside for further assessment on a minor fitness issue (The Athletic).
While Hugo Ekitike has linked up with the group after completing his transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt this week, one of his new teammates has now flown back to England.
Joe Gomez sent home after pre-season injury blow
As reported by Paul Gorst for Liverpool Echo, Joe Gomez has left the LFC squad in Hong Kong due to a minor Achilles injury.
It was decided that, if he’s unlikely to be fit enough to play against Yokohoma F. Marinos in Japan on Wednesday, it’d be best for him to resume treatment at the AXA Training Centre.
The journalist added that, with Virgil van Dijk the only natural centre-back in the Reds’ starting XI today, Ryan Gravenberch is expected to partner his Dutch compatriot in defence.
In light of Gomez’s latest injury setback, Gorst pondered the rhetorical question: ‘A centre-half is needed this transfer window, surely?’
Gomez injury blow heightens the need for a centre-back signing
This body blow for Liverpool lays bare the dearth of centre-back options available to Arne Slot, with Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate now the only two senior players in that position.
For all the excellent work that Richard Hughes has done in the summer transfer window so far, that frightening reality must surely send a shiver up the spine of the Reds’ sporting director.
seems perplexing that the first-team squad contains four goalkeepers, three left-backs and only three centre-backs, with one of the latter now ruled out until next month at a minimum.
The excitement over a potential big-money move for Alexander Isak is understandable, but Gomez’s injury blow must now make the addition of a central defender the utmost priority for the remainder of the transfer window.
It could be time to accelerate the reported pursuit of Marc Guehi so that we’re not left running the risk of repeating the dark days of 2020/21 when we had to deploy midfielders Fabinho and Jordan Henderson as an emergency centre-back pairing.
