Jurgen Klopp hasn’t ruled out the possibility of using Marko Grujic against Stoke today.
Liverpool are suffering a very untimely injury crisis with seven games of the season remaining. Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana and Sadio Mane, three automatic starters, are all out, while Coutinho is a doubt due to illness.
There were very high hopes for Grujic at the beginning of the campaign, but he’s played just 28 minutes in the Premier League – something few would have believed possible following his awesome pre-season.
Now though, following a few decent performances for the Under-23s, Klopp has suggested he’s an option – although still claimed fitness is a problem.
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“He played in the under-23s then he was injured,” Klopp told the Echo. “I watched the game against Chelsea (on March 13) and it was a really good game.
“After 60 minutes he was getting tired then we couldn’t involve him in our training regularly.
“It’s not too cool. We have to think about it.
“Maybe when I know the system we exactly want to play in (against Stoke), that depends too on what the doc tells me.
“We have to see what players can best play in each position. He’s an option for one of these positions depending on what system we play.”
The Grujic situation has frustrated us all term. We’re not sure Klopp gave him enough minutes in the cup competitions early on, in truth, which would have helped him find confidence and his feet in England.
The Serbian’s injury was just bad luck, but you get the feeling the manager hasn’t been suitably impressed by how the player’s applied himself.
Perhaps he’ll come back and prove us wrong, as he’s a mighty talent.