Liverpool manager on Tuesday revealed that while he was aware of Joel Matip’s injury, the German tactician admitted that the complaint didn’t look as bad initially and the fact that the defender would require surgery was not something he had foreseen.
“It was two days ago (I got the news),” Klopp was quoted as saying by the club website.
Matip started on Saturday for the Reds in their Premier League fixture at Selhurst Park and managed to complete the entire 90 minutes without any notable difficulty, perhaps that’s why many Liverpool fans were in shock when news of his injury and impending operation surfaced on Tuesday.
“After the game, nobody could have imagined that. Joel said he felt it a bit but he could do everything, so it should be fine,” revealed the Reds boss as he continued, “We all thought it was kind of a dead leg. The only problem was nobody saw when he got the dead leg. That left us a little bit concerned.”
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And Klopp admitted that on the eve of Manchester City’s visit for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final, things did not look ideal for the Reds at the back.
“Getting the news was, of course, absolutely bad, especially with the background – Joe (Gomez) is already out, Ragnar (Klavan) is not fit, Emre (Can) is struggling.
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“That was then quite harsh. But it is like it is. Joel has already started recovery and will be back for pre-season. That’s good. It doesn’t help us too much in the moment, of course: not too cool.”
Apart from the aforementioned players, Liverpool also lost another team member to injury during their clash with the Eagles—Adam Lallana— and while Klopp had a positive update on the Englishman, the midfielder isn’t expected to feature till May, at the earliest.
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In Matip’s absence, Dejan Lovren is expected to slot in and partner club-record signing Virgil van Dijk in the centre of defence for the Merseysiders against the Sky Blues on Wednesday night.