Liverpool centre-back Joel Matip has been spotted arriving in hospital, amid rumors he picked up a muscle injury in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Everton.
Matip played all 90 minutes of the game, starting with Virgil van Dijk but ending with Joe Gomez after the Dutchman suffered an ACL injury.
EXCLUSIVE: As revealed last night, Joël Matip left the field on Saturday with an injury complaint and needs a scan to assess the damage. Here he is, having arrived at a hospital in Liverpool some time ago. I hope to get an update on his condition later – fingers crossed. #LFC #exLFCemployee pic.twitter.com/9ScFIzh7gp
– Former employee of LFC. (@exLFCemployee03) October 19, 2020
With Van Dijk expected to miss at least a few months following surgery, Matip and Gomes are in Liverpool’s only recognized centre-back squad, but the injury crisis is likely to get worse.
As posted by a former LFC employee on Twitter, Matip arrived at a local hospital for a scan on Monday morning after complaining of an injury as a result of Saturday’s game, with Liverpool keen to understand the extent of the damage. .
Matip hardly has the most encouraging injury record. He missed 20 games last season with a knee injury and has been ruled out for a further 40 since joining the club back in 2016.
Injuries have marred Matape’s time at Anfield / Vision Haas / Getty Images
Even if Matip misses just one game with this injury, Liverpool’s team will be stretched. Midfielder Fabinho may have to drop into defence, but that leaves the team without an anchor in the heart of the pitch.
Academy stars such as Nate Phillips, Billy Cometeau and Sepp van den Bergh could be called up, although whether any of them are ready for an extension to the first team is a different question.
Gomez could be himself / Ruby J Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Next up for Liverpool is a trip to Amsterdam to take on Ajax in the Champions League on Wednesday, and Klopp could face the prospect of only having one senior centre-back available for the game.
Meetings with Sheffield United, Midtjylland and West Ham will follow, before games against Serie A high-flyers Atalanta and Manchester City kick off in November.
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