Liverpool will be without Dutch defender Jeremie Frimpong until after the September international break, Afrosport reports.
The 24-year-old was replaced on the hour-mark by Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo during Liverpool’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth.
The right-back limped off during the game at Anfield and will miss Monday’s trip to Newcastle United and at home against Arsenal next Sunday.
Manager Arne Slot admitted that while his decision to substitute Frimpong drew some criticism, the medical team’s advice proved correct.
He said: “The medical team was completely right about Jeremie, to tell me I had to take him off because he’s out until the end of the international break.
“I think I got criticised a bit by taking him off. [The medical staff] felt he had an issue in his hamstring. Good call to take him off otherwise he might have been out for longer. We expect to have him back after the international break.”
Slot revealed that Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley can deputise at right-back, but Monday’s game comes too soon for Bradley, who only returned to first team training on Thursday.
“Conor played for a few minutes with us today, for the first time,” added Slot. “These things happen in a season. We have only at the moment two injuries – unfortunately it’s two for the same position.”
The Dutch coach also confirmed that Endo and Dominik Szoboszlai could help solve their full back problem in the interim.
“The good thing is some others can play in that position as well,” he continued. “Wataru played in that position for a few minutes, Dominik Szoboszlai already played in that position. There are other options we can explore.
” Gomez is definitely one of them. But for him to already play 20 minutes, that was already quite a lot. I wouldn’t say he had a setback, but he wasn’t able to train three days in a row completely with the team. It’s completely normal if you’ve been out for so long and all of a sudden the manager needs you for 20 minutes.
“He’s training with the team so let’s see where he is on Monday, if he can be involved in the team or if he can even start. But there are other options as well.
“You cannot prepare for two injuries in one position. It would be stupid for us to have three full-backs or five left-backs – although we have three left-backs!”
