Cody Gakpo is poised to miss the international break after suffering an injury against Tottenham on Saturday, leaving Liverpool facing a selection issue against Brighton.
The Merseysiders were defeated 2-1 by Tottenham Hotspur in north London, but the game was overshadowed by a massive VAR error that saw Luis Duiz’s first-half shot incorrectly ruled out.
In addition to Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota being sent off, Gakpo, who scored shortly before halftime, was forced off with an injury.
The injury was caused by Destiny Udogie’s previous challenge, in which his foot got stuck beneath the sliding Spurs defender, and the Dutchman looked to roll his ankle after striking the ball for Liverpool’s equalizer.
Despite the fact that Gakpo’s injury is not serious, he will still be out for a few weeks, according to reports in the Dutch media.
He won’t be able to participate in the Netherlands’ forthcoming European Championship qualifying games against France and Greece, which are scheduled for October 13 and October 16, respectively, but he should return later this month.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, that means Gakpo will miss Thursday’s Europa League match against Union Saint-Gilloise as well as the away trip to face Brighton on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp’s selection problems will be made worse by the absence of Jones and Jota, who will both be serving suspensions. Jones might potentially receive a three-game suspension for serious foul behavior.
After the game on Saturday, when asked about Gakpo, Klopp responded, “The main difficulty of the game, to be honest, was that before Cody Gakpo scored, we had a free-kick, and he got hurt, and he is now with a brace walking down the hallway.
To be honest, that’s my biggest issue right now. We may have lost a third player in addition to the two players we lost due to red cards. Therefore, it is evident that we must deal with that.
When asked if Gakpo’s injury was serious, Klopp responded, “Perhaps, I don’t know.
He was braced. Even though he had just scored, he still felt the impact of that shot. It came from the earlier foul.
Darwin Nunez is set to start against Brighton next weekend after Jota replaced Gakpo at halftime, but Klopp will have very few aggressive, game-changing options to choose from on the bench.
