Not just Trent: Another Liverpool player has been forced to withdraw from his national squad
Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has been forced to withdraw from the France squad for their upcoming internationals due to injury.
The 24-year-old missed the recent wins over Newcastle and Aston Villa due to a hamstring problem (The Athletic) and, despite being named in Didier Deschamps’ initial selection for Les Bleus’ matches against Republic of Ireland and Germany in the coming days, he’s now pulled out of action for his country.
The French federation confirmed on their official website that, following consultation with team doctor Franck Le Gall, the coach took the decision to stand down the Reds centre-back and replace him with Jean-Clair Todibo.
Konate isn’t the only Liverpool defender to be withdrawn from international duty through injury, with England confirming on Monday evening that Trent Alexander-Arnold won’t partake in their upcoming games either.
READ MORE: Liverpool fans will be praying journalist’s five-word claim on Mo Salah proves accurate
READ MORE: £134k-p/w Real Madrid dynamo feels he made a mistake to snub Liverpool’s summer interest
As with the English right-back, Jurgen Klopp and Reds fans might be relieved in one sense that Konate has pulled out of the France squad for the September internationals.
The 24-year-old has unfortunately been beset by several injury concerns since the start of last season (Transfermarkt), and with Virgil van Dijk still facing the prospect of an increased suspension (talkSPORT), Liverpool’s centre-back options aren’t plentiful right now.
Thankfully, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip have performed commendably as a partnership over the past couple of games, with youngster Jarell Quansah also offering a dependable backup, although the former may be needed at right-back if Trent is to miss LFC’s next few matches.
That Konate was initially named in the France squad suggests that Deschamps had some hope of him being fit for the fixtures against Ireland and Germany, which in turn would imply that the defender could be recovered in time to face Wolves on 16 September.
We can only wait and see if he’s fit enough to feature for the trip to Molineux in 12 days’ time, but at least he won’t run the risk of aggravating his hamstring problem on international duty, which’ll come as a relief to Klopp and Liverpool supporters.
#Ep89 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones
The post Not just Trent: Another Liverpool player has been forced to withdraw from his national squad appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.