Arne Slot admits Liverpool star’s season could be over in new injury update
Liverpool defender Joe Gomez has been ruled out of action for a significant period after undergoing surgery on an injury that has plagued him since the start of the year
Joe Gomez is in a race to be fit before the end of the season after undergoing surgery.
The Liverpoool defender has been out with a hamstring injury since January and undergone surgery on the issue. Gomez attempted to make his comeback earlier this month but lasted just 11 minutes before needing to be substituted in the FA Cup defeat to Plymouth Argyle.
Reds boss Arne Slot gave a non-committal response on the prognosis of the 27-year-old, and suggested he will ‘maybe’ be back before the end of May. The Dutchman also all but ruled out Conor Bradley, who was forced off after 89 minutes in the draw with Aston Villa.
Slot said in his Thursday press conference: “No, he [Bradley] still has to come in, so we don’t know yet. I would be completely surprised if he’s involved in the Sunday game, or the Wednesday game against Newcastle. You can assume that’s not going to happen.
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“Joe Gomez had surgery for his hamstring injury, so he’s out for a long time. He will be back maybe just before the end of the season.
“Then, of course, these two players are not injured but they come back from an injury – [Diogo] Jota and Trent [Alexander-Arnold], so that’s also the reason they don’t play 90 minutes five times in a row in 15 days. That would be a big risk, we could see this yesterday with Conor Bradley.”
Slot also provided an update on forward Cody Gakpo. The Netherlands international has missed Liverpool’s last two Premier League matches and has yet to return to team training.
The 25-year-old is touch-and-go to make Sunday’s trip to the Etihad Stadium. The Reds take on Manchester City looking to get back to winning ways following their stalemate with Aston Villa but Slot does not yet know if he will have the servicees of Gakpo to rely upon.
“Let’s see,” he said. “I hope [he’s available], I’m not 100 per cent sure. He hasn’t trained with the team yet. Maybe he does a bit today. I don’t know exactly. It will be a close call.”
Liverpool’s injury issues will ensure that Slot is cautious over his team selections in the coming weeks. The disrupted season of Diogo Jota sees the Dutchman taking a restrained approach as he continues to return from injury despite providing an assist in his last outing.
“I would have loved to have played him every single time for maybe 90 minutes,” said Slot, “But if a player is out for four or five months and he hasn’t been out out, he has been coming back, coming in, coming back and every time we played him a bit too much he got injured again, I hope people understand why we are so cautious now.
“Because [with] 12 games to go, you tell me – and I see the same – how much of a threat he is, so we have to keep him available for 12 more games and Champions League and the League Cup final. That is not an easy balance to find.”
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