Injury doubt over Liverpool captain
Liverpool are sweating on the fitness of captain Jordan Henderson before their game at Brighton.
The midfielder has sustained a calf injury and will undergo a fitness test to establish if he can make the trip south. He suffered the injury on the eve of Liverpool’s FA Cup third-round defeat by Wolves at Molineux on Monday.
With several injury problems arising over the past few weeks, Jurgen Klopp’s squad is being stretched more than at any time this season.
The Liverpool manager will be without Dejan Lovren due to the hamstring problem the centre-back picked up in the early stages of Monday’s 2-1 loss, while fellow defender Joel Matip is not likely to have recovered from a broken collarbone in time.
Matip is making progress and, like Lovren, could be back to face Crystal Palace on January 19. Joe Gomez is missing until February due to a leg fracture sustained at Burnley last month. That means another midfielder, Fabinho, is likely to continue as a makeshift centre-back at Brighton as Liverpool seek to preserve their four-point lead at the top of the English Premier League. The Brazilian played in that role at Wolves alongside 16-year-old Ki-Jana Hoever.
If Fabinho features in defence, Liverpool can ill afford for Henderson to be absent as it will limit midfield options. Henderson had been pencilled into to play at centre-back alongside Fabinho at Molineux prior to his injury. His late withdrawal meant that Lovren — who was due to be rested with Virgil van Dijk — had to play. Liverpool paid the price after just five minutes of the tie.
James Milner, Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri are available, but Adam Lallana will also need to prove his fitness to be involved. Lallana was also meant to start at Wolves on Monday but was a late withdrawal.
Henderson and Lallana will try to complete a full training session before Liverpool travel to Brighton.
Despite the injury issues, Klopp has made no plans to enter the transfer market as he anticipates having a full squad available by the end of the month.
Liverpool’s only activity so far has involved outgoing loan deals and the £19 million sale of Dominic Solanke to Bournemouth.
Teenager Ben Woodburn, who has returned to Anfield after a disappointing loan spell at Sheffield United, will be allowed to move on again for the remainder of the season. Several Championship clubs are showing interest in the striker.
Meanwhile, Unai Emery has said Arsenal cannot afford to buy players on permanent deals in this transfer window, with the club looking for recruits who can be signed only on loan.
The Arsenal head coach confirmed that the club does not have the financial power to recruit new players. Arsenal’s finances have been stretched by their hefty wage bill and by a series of signings in the past 12 months, including the club-record signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for £56 million.