Jurgen Klopp has provided a positive update on the fitness of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez but has bad news about Curtis Jones.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Klopp provided an injury update on van Dijk and Gomez, saying: “I think so, it looks like [they are available to start].
“But how it is with these kind of things, we have nothing to rush in this department.
“If I think we have to take them off earlier then it makes no sense because centre-half is not actually a position where you want to change during a game and so we will see.”
On Jones, Klopp added: “He had a slight concussion so we just have to follow the protocol.
“He is fine, he feels fine again, but that’s the protocol. He is available for training from Sunday on I think.”
It’s good to hear that Jones isn’t seriously hurt but it’s bad news to hear that he will be unavailable for the first game of the season but it highlights how easily Liverpool can lose players to injury.
In two games, the Reds have seen Jones and Andrew Robertson pick up injuries, with the latter suffering serious ankle ligament damage.
Who will start vs. Norwich City?
Obviously, there is no real way of telling and Liverpool have plugged leaks in recent years so it’s up to us to speculate but it seems unlikely that Klopp will risk van Dijk and Gomez after how careful he was all summer.
Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate are both fantastic in their own right and it will be interesting to see how they dovetail should they be partnered.
They’re almost exactly the same height, with Matip a signal centimetre taller so it’s very likely the Reds will be strong at set-pieces but both can be caught out with long balls over the top so Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kostas Tsimikas will need to be on their toes.
It’s also going to be curious to see who Klopp starts in midfield as Liverpool had a very strong pre-season and a number of players are in contention to start.