Jurgen Klopp admits that Joel Matip won’t be able to make a comeback before Liverpool’s season concludes.
The defender suffered an anterior cruciate ligament rupture during a victory over Fulham, which has kept him out of action since early December. Though Matip is speeding up his recuperation and it appears that time will not be on the 32-year-old’s side.
There may be seven weeks left in the season as we approach April but Klopp thinks the Cameroon star will find that to be too soon. Despite his return to running, Matip is still not expected to play a major role in Liverpool’s attempts to win the Premier League and Europa League.
“Joel is running,” stated the Reds manager. Although he detests it, he can now run. It takes time but he is now pain-free. The season isn’t long enough for him in my opinion.
Matip’s injury has put Liverpool’s defensive capabilities to the test during a season where they have experienced several absences. Numerous first-team players have been sidelined by Klopp but this has given young players the opportunity to thrive. Jarell Quansah has teamed up with Virgil van Dijk to cover for Matip.
Jurgen Klopp Next Move
The 21-year-old has participated in and performed well in some of Liverpool’s most important matches. As Klopp continues to manage the season impressively, players like Conor Bradley, who has replaced Trent Alexander-Arnold are another talent to emerge and carve out a niche for himself.
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With Klopp leaving at the end of the season, as reported by Mirror, it does mean that Matip won’t play under the German once more. The Reds manager is hoping to have some of his injured players back as the season comes to an end, including Stefan Bajcetic and Curtis Jones.
“If there are different ways (to get players back), we would have them, but they will still be needed; they just need minutes,” he stated. Perhaps the following week. Curtis was exceptional up until his injury, so hopefully that isn’t the case now. Excellent during training but we’ll have to wait and see.
“There is no other way, so they are rebuilding their bodies in preparation for all these difficult things that will happen in Premier League games. The only thing is that it gets easier to intervene from the sidelines the better we play.
They must return and we may need them for up to 14 games in the next six or seven weeks. For the first time, we need them and it would be great if we could get some good fortune with players returning.
This week, Stefan Bajcetic trained exclusively with the U21 team. The following week, he will work with the seniors.”
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