Journalist Dominic King has shared projected injury timelines for three Liverpool players ahead of this week’s fixtures against Luton and Chelsea.
The Reds’ 4-1 win at Brentford on Saturday was tempered by body blows which saw Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez all substituted before the start of the second half, on top of a casualty list which also includes the likes of Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai and Thiago Alcantara.
Speaking on the It’s All Kicking Off podcast, the reporter outlined how long the former trio will likely be ruled out of action, and it doesn’t make for a pleasant soundbyte for LFC fans.
King said: “I believe Jota is going to be out for two months, which could be huge. Nunez a couple of weeks, Jones maybe a week. That’s what I’m led to be the case.”
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With Mo Salah also being ruled out of the Luton game on Wednesday night, it leaves Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo as Liverpool’s only remaining senior attackers, so we could see Harvey Elliott operating on the right of a front three against the Hatters.
The Colombia and Netherlands internationals will be heavily relied upon over the next few games with Jota and Nunez sidelined, and this is their time to step up just as the Portuguese forward did during the absence of our number 11 in recent weeks.
King’s update suggests that Jones might be touch-and-go for the Carabao Cup final next Sunday, although further clues are set to emerge during the week as to whether or not the 23-year-old will make it in time for the Wembley showpiece.
The injury pile-up has come at a hugely inopportune time for Liverpool, with eight more matches across four different competitions between now and 17 March.
Not for the first time this season, Jurgen Klopp will need to utilise every bit of squad depth available to him in order to navigate a hectic period with increasingly limited playing resources. Let’s pray that the casualty list clears some bit over the coming days and weeks.