Arne Slot has said that one Liverpool player remains a ‘doubt’ to start for the Reds against Tottenham in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday night.
Joe Gomez is the only injury absentee for the trip to north London, with Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley having both made their comebacks in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United at the weekend.
Dominik Szoboszlai missed the game on Sunday due to illness, and the LFC head coach was asked for an update on the Hungary midfielder in his pre-match press conference this morning.
Slot confirmed that the 24-year-old missed training on Monday but was hopeful of having him involved with the Liverpool squad today, although a return to the starting XI tomorrow night seems unlikely.
The Reds boss said of our number 8 (via Liverpool FC on YouTube): “Yesterday he wasn’t in yet, so [we’ll see] if he’s in today. I would doubt he’s available to start the game, but hopefully he’s in today. Yesterday he wasn’t.”
Having starred in the 6-3 win away to Tottenham just before Christmas, when he scored one goal and set up another, it’d be a shame for Liverpool if Szoboszlai hasn’t recovered in time to feature against Spurs on Wednesday night.
The Hungarian’s last involvement on the pitch was on Boxing Day, having been suspended for the 5-0 thrashing of West Ham and then missing the draw against Man United because of illness, so he’ll be itching to get back into the action as soon as possible.
It seems unlikely that he’d be risked for the FA Cup tie against Accrington Stanley next weekend, so the next we could see of him is in the pivotal Premier League showdown away to Nottingham Forest in a week’s time.
Slot didn’t rule out Szoboszlai entirely for tomorrow night, so there’s a chance that the 24-year-old will be among the substitutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Curtis Jones likely to keep his place despite Jamie Carragher’s criticism of his performance on Sunday.
Fingers crossed that Liverpool’s number 8 will at least be in contention for the matchday squad for the cup clash in north London, even if it’s only as an option off the bench.
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