Liverpool Team News: Klopp Rules Duo Out Of Arsenal + Key Man Faces Late Test

Liverpool will be looking to climb back in to the top four of the Premier League table when they take on Arsenal at Anfield on Saturday evening. 

Ahead of the game, Jurgen Klopp has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference this afternoon and he’s given Liverpoolfc.com a team news and injury update.

The Reds boss confirmed a fresh blow with the news that Daniel Sturridge will miss the Arsenal game after suffering a hip injury in training this week.

Sturridge was forced to return home early from Liverpool’s warm weather training camp in La Manga, Spain, last month after being struck down by a nasty virus.

The striker was due to be back in contention this weekend, however, Klopp has revealed that Sturridge picked up a hip injury during a rehab session and is now expected to be out for around a week.

In a double blow, Jordan Henderson has also been ruled out of tomorrow’s visit of Arsenal after suffering a foot injury in training shortly before Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat at Leicester City.

Klopp has slightly better news regarding Dejan Lovren as the centre-back could be back in contention after recovering from a knee injury that’s kept him sidelined since the draw with Chelsea in late January.

Lovren returned to light training earlier this week and joined in with the rest of the first team squad in full training on Thursday so he’ll be given a late fitness test to see if he’ll be available to face Arsenal tomorrow.

Klopp told the clubs website:

“For Jordan it will be too soon, for sure. That will take time. Dejan, we will see. He [did] part of team training the day before yesterday, and then yesterday he was in full team training.

“Now we have to see how he reacts on this. He will be involved in training again, if nobody tells me anything different. Then we have to make a decision.

“It’s not the longest, he was out for pretty much four weeks, [he has been] training for three days and in the end I have to make a decision. I am not sure about it [at the moment].”

“Daniel was ill – really, really ill. Now he has a strain in his hip muscle. It happened in the rehab session.

“It’s not the biggest one, it’s very small, but it keeps him out of normal training for probably another week. In this week he can train, but not in team training.”

If Lovren is passed fit, he’s almost certain to start alongside Joel Matip at the back with Lucas Leiva dropping out after deputising in defence in recent weeks.

With Sturridge ruled out, Roberto Firmino is certain to start up front while Emre Can should continue alongside Adam Lallana and Gini Wijnaldum in midfield with Henderson on the sidelines.