Jurgen Klopp confirms two injury doubts ahead of the trip to crystal palace; gives injury updates of Thiago and Nat Phillips

Jurgen Klopp confirms two injury doubts ahead of the trip to crystal palace; gives injury updates of Thiago and Nat Phillips

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool may need to go without Joel Matip and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as they travel to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.

Matip, 30, was taken off at half-time in Thursday night’s 2-0 victory at Arsenal with an unspecified knock as Liverpool reached the Carabao Cup final.

Oxlade-Chamberlain, 28, missed the match at the Emirates after rolling his ankle during last Sunday’s 3-0 win over Brentford, having scored his first league goal of the season minutes earlier.

Klopp remains in the dark on whether the duo can feature against the Eagles, while he was eager to stress Matip was taken off against the Gunners due to injury rather than for tactical reasons.

While Previewing the trip to Selhurst Park on Friday, Jurgen Klopp said: “My God, how good was Joel?

“We thought something was not 100 percent right, and we have Ibu (Ibrahima Konate) and Joe (Gomez) on the bench, so it’s just that we change it.

Konate, 22, was the defender chosen to replace Matip and helped the Reds keep a clean sheet.

Turning his attention to Oxlade-Chamberlain, Klopp added: “We hope and pray. He was running yesterday but we don’t know exactly what that means for today.

“It would be helpful if he could train before the game! I don’t know yet.”

Liverpool remains without the services of Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, Senegal’s Sadio Mane, and Guinea’s Naby Keita, who are participating in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Elsewhere, forward Divock Origi, midfielder Thiago Alcantara, defender Nat Phillips, and playmaker Harvey Elliott are closing in on returns from injury and may re-enter the fray in early February.

“The rest, as far as I know, we’re only knocks,” the German said. “Yes, we got knocks, proper knocks. The second yellow from Partey against Fabinho was a proper knock.

“I didn’t hear anything, so that’s – most of the time – positive. But sometimes I get surprised after the press conference. I don’t know anything else.”

In other news, Liverpool identify Nkunku as a “Perfect replacement” for star forward