Klopp needing some ‘miracles’ as injury count hits unlucky 13
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp feels he needs "miracles" to get a number of his injured players back sooner rather than later.
Midfielder Ryan Gravenberch was the latest to be ruled out - for at least two matches - after he was carried off on a stretcher in Sunday's Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea.
But Wataru Endo is also a doubt for tonight's FA Cup visit of Championship highflyers Southampton after he left Wembley on crutches and wearing a protective boot, which would take the number of first-teamers unavailable to 13.
And Klopp admitted veteran midfielder Thiago Alcantara who has made one five-minute substitute appearance since April - may not play again for the club as his contract expires in the summer.
Mohamed Salah, Darwin
Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai are closest to returning, but they may not be risked in the cup.
"We need miracles with a few players," Klopp said. "I don't want to rule them out for too long. But it is touch and go with a lot of players who were not available for the final: Darwin, Mo, Dom.
"In an ideal world you'd think about these kind of things but we obviously don't live in an ideal world so we will see when the players arrive and they get checked. "When the players arrive and I can look in their eyes and see who might be ready then I will make the line-up."
Klopp is likely to have to rely on a number of the younger players who made such an impression at Wembley, with 19-year-olds Bobby Clark, son of former Newcastle midfielder Lee, and James Mcconnell likely to start against Saints.
Although the pair have made just one start apiece in cup competitions this season, Klopp has total faith in their
ability to step up in the team's hour of need - although he urged fans to make allowances for them.
"First and foremost, they don't have to show anything. Our boys played in youth teams and under-21s and only came up recently and trained with us: absolutely nil experience but a lot of talent and they showed that," he added.
Another likely starter tonight is Scotland international Andy Robertson but whether the
left-back is still at Anfield next season remains to be seen. Robertson was yesterday linked with a move to German giants Bayern Munich.
A newspaper report claimed that the Scotland captain is at the top of a list of potential candidates to replace Bayern's Alphonso Davies, who is expected to join Real Madrid this summer.
Manchester United are also in FA Cup action tonight as they take on Nottingham Forest
at the City Ground. The tournament represents United’s last opportunity of silverware this season and Erik Ten Hag’s men will be looking to bounce back from the weekend defeat by Fulham.
"Obviously it was a poor performance, a poor defeat, we are aware of this and we want to stay in every competition so, yeah, we have to win,” said Ten Hag. “But it doesn't change our approach because that is for every game.”