Liverpool facing left-back injury crisis as Kostas Tsimikas injury is confirmed

Bukayo Saka’s challenge saw the Reds’ defender collide with Jurgen Klopp, ending in a lengthy lay-off

Richard Jolly
Senior Football Correspondent
Saturday 23 December 2023 20:43 GMT
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(Getty Images)

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Kostas Tsimikas faces a lengthy lay-off with a broken collarbone as Liverpool’s injury problems leave then without both of their senior left-backs.

The Greece international was hurt in the first half of Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal and Jurgen Klopp expects he will be out for months.

Andy Robertson could be out until the end of January as he recovers from a dislocated shoulder. The Scotland captain is back in training but unlikely to return for another month.

Tsimikas’ injury came in freak circumstances when he was nudged by Bukayo Saka and collided with Klopp himself as well as the ground.

The Liverpool manager said: “Of course it effected me. I had no pain but thought maybe Kostas was going to be fine. I would happily give my collarbone for him to be fit again. It is not cool when something like that happens in front of you and you are involved in that, I was not sure what even happened or if I fell on him. It is not nice to see.

“It [the result] was massively overshadowed by Kostas Tsimikas’ collarbone issue, definitely broken, so he is out for a long time. The other issues we will have to see. It is hard for us to swallow with the Robbo situation.”

Klopp said he was bemused why Liverpool were not awarded a penalty for Martin Odegaard’s first-half handball. “I am pretty sure someone will come to explain it to me why it was not a handball but I don’t know how?” he asked.

“I don’t say that the ref can see it because I don’t know where he was in that moment. But how can a guy in an office see that and not come to the conclusion that maybe, possibly it could be worth the referee having another look?”

Klopp also praised Trent Alexander-Arnold for the 70-yard ball that led to Mohamed Salah’s equalised, adding: “Maybe the best pass I saw in my life.”

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