Liverpool handed new injury boost for Man City showdown as Arne Slot delivers double update | OneFootball

Reds crisis eases further ahead of high-profile Premier League clash at Anfield

Liverpool hope that Joe Gomez will return to training before Sunday’s showdown with Manchester City in the Premier League, though Jeremie Frimpong remains sidelined.

The versatile defender missed the 6-0 Champions League rout of Qarabag and 4-1 victory over Newcastle in the top-flight as a result, though could return to the squad for Sunday’s high-profile visit of title-challenging City to Anfield.

Comeback: Joe Gomez could play some part for Liverpool against Manchester City

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"Jeremie will definitely not train this week, so he's not available for the weekend,” Liverpool boss Arne Slot said at his pre-City press conference on Thursday.

"With Joe, we have a little bit of hope that he might train Saturday. So, not available to start but maybe available to help the team if needed during the game because, as you already know, there are not that many defenders available at the moment."

Liverpool have been notably short on defensive options of late, with midfielder Ryan Gravenberch having to partner captain Virgil van Dijk at centre-back against Qarabag, with Wataru Endo then filling in at right-back after Frimpong’s early exit.

However, Ibrahima Konate returned and scored against Newcastle in emotional scenes last weekend having missed three games as he returned to France following the death of his father.

Right-back Conor Bradley was ruled out for the rest of the season with a serious knee injury sustained in the goalless draw at Arsenal in January, while summer signing Giovanni Leoni is not expected back until next term after tearing his cruciate ligament on debut in the Carabao Cup back in September.

Liverpool beat Chelsea to a £60million deal for Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet earlier this week, but he will not arrive on Merseyside until the summer.

Young centre-backs Mor Talla Ndiaye, Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Noah Adekoya were also signed, but they are all going into the youth setup initially.

Liverpool also remain without record signing Alexander Isak, with the Swedish striker still recovering from surgery on a leg fracture suffered while scoring during the win at Tottenham shortly before Christmas.