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Already without Jordan Henderson and Jon Flanagan for the foreseeable future, Liverpool got another piece of bad news on the injury front yesterday when the club learned Joe Gomez would miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL that would require surgery.
Things got even worse today with news that Danny Ings would be joining him on the sidelines for the remainder of the season. Liverpool's manager didn't know that yet, though, when he spoke to reporters at his pre-match press conference about the injury status of a number of his players earlier today.
"I met Gomez for the first time this week," manager Jürgen Klopp told the press. "He's a wonderful boy, but he has done his ACL and we will just have to wait for further diagnosis. It's not the best day of his life, but this is his home, and we will do everything we can to help him play again as soon as possible."
It's an unfortunate confirmation of the severity of the injury. The 18-year-old defender had shown great promise for Liverpool already after arriving for £3.5M over the summer, and the last thing he needs at this stage in his development is to spend an entire season on the sidelines with a major injury.
If the situation is bad for Gomez, it's not much better for a Liverpool side that now find themselves wholly without depth at fullback. With Gomez and Flanagan sidelined, Liverpool are left with only Nathaniel Clyne on the right. On the left, Jose Enrique at least theoretically exists to back up Alberto Moreno.
Elsewhere, though early reports offered hope that Roberto Firmino could be fit enough to make the bench on Saturday, Klopp said the attacking midfielder will not be in contention until next week's Europa League match against Rubin Kazan. It's a similar situation for striker Christian Benteke.
"Benteke and Firmino are back on the pitch but they are not training with the team," said the new Liverpool manager, "but I hope that they will be back next week."
