Klopp Unsure About Severity of Firmino Injury

Roberto Firmino’s first-half substitution against Chelsea caught nearly everyone who was watching off guard. He walked off the pitch gingerly and appeared to have a hand on one of his thighs, leading some to speculate it was a hamstring or quad injury. However, it wasn’t immediately obvious how or when it would have happened.

Manager Jürgen Klopp was asked if he knew how serious the injury was during his post-match press conference.

“Serious? I don’t know. Serious enough to take him off, yes,” Klopp said.

He also confirmed that it was a hamstring injury, and it was Firmino who let the sideline know he needed to come off, which seems to hint that it’s not likely to be just a minor knock.

“Bobby felt his hamstring, came and told us so we had to prepare the change. Bobby is nobody who raises the hand when he doesn’t feel anything.

“It doesn’t look too serious but you never know before you have a scan, which will happen tomorrow.”

Firmino’s early substitution made it hard for Liverpool to adjust to Chelsea’s low, disciplined defensive block as they tried to see out the 1-1 draw with ten men in the second half. Not only is his skill set well suited to trying to break down a very defensive setup, but the use of a sub in the first half made it more difficult for Klopp to make further changes to adjust the team’s approach as Chelsea increasingly frustrated the Red’s as the second half wore on.

All that’s left to do now is wait and see the results of the scan on Firmino’s hamstring. Liverpool will not return to action until September 12th, so if it turns out to be a relatively minor injury, there is hope he could return without missing any matches.