Liverpool manager Arne Slot has delivered bad news regarding new signing Jeremie Frimpong, who will be sidelined until after the September international break following a hamstring setback. The Reds splashed out approximately £30million to secure Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s direct successor, after the England star departed for Real Madrid when his deal ran down.
The pacey full-back had caught the eye of supporters during pre-season outings, before being withdrawn on 60 minutes during their 4-2 triumph against Bournemouth on Premier League opening day after reporting hamstring discomfort. However, Liverpool must now cope without their fresh acquisition for several weeks following this disappointing injury blow, with alternative options Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez also battling fitness concerns.
Bradley has recently recovered from his own physical problem, participating in team training for the first occasion on Thursday.
Nevertheless, Slot was keen to praise his medical department for preventing Frimpong’s condition from deteriorating further. “Conor trained with us for a few minutes today for the first time,” he explained.
“Medical team was completely right about Jeremie to take him off because he’s out until the end of the international break. We felt Jeremie had an issue in his hamstring – the medical team did. They were right. A good call from them as otherwise he could have been out for even longer.”
Slot has downplayed the recent injury setbacks suffered by both players, stating that fitness issues can occur to any player. “Jeremie has a very positive injury record,” the Dutchman added. “Conor has been out once or twice last season.
“These things happen. We only have two injuries at the same moment but they are in the same position.” In addition, Slot provided an update on Joe Gomez, who has also been striving to return to the first team following a long-term injury.
“Joe Gomez hasn’t had a setback but he wasn’t able to train three days in a row. We will see where he is on Monday and if he can start. You can’t prepare for injuries in one position – you can’t have five right-backs. Although we do have three left-backs at the moment!”
If Slot determines that both Bradley and Gomez aren’t ready for the trip to Newcastle, he may be forced to move either Curtis Jones or Dominik Szoboszlai there, who played right back last season and in the pre-season respectively.
Liverpool have some significant matches coming up as they aim to defend their Premier League title. First, they face a challenging trip to Newcastle on Monday before welcoming title rivals Arsenal to Anfield the following weekend.