Liverpool team news: Klopp confirms double fitness boost

Liverpool will be looking to book their place in the next round of the FA Cup when they entertain Norwich City at Anfield on Wednesday night.

Ahead of the game, Jurgen Klopp has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference this afternoon. The Reds boss provided an update on the fitness of Thiago Alcantara and Luis Diaz.

Thiago was initially named in Liverpool’s starting eleven to face Chelsea in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final at Wembley. However, the midfielder picked up a hamstring injury during the warm-up and was forced to watch the thrilling penalty shoot-out victory from the sidelines.

Liverpool feared Thiago was facing a spell on the treatment table but a scan has revealed only minor damage. Klopp didn’t want to put a firm timescale on the midfielders recovery but refused to rule Thiago out of Saturday’s Premier League clash with West Ham.

The Reds boss also suggested Thiago could be ready for Liverpool’s Champions League last-16 second leg tie with Inter Milan next week. While the former Bayern Munich star will ‘definitely’ be available for the game with Brighton the following weekend.

Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com:

“He’s fine again but not fit again. Like always, you don’t know [how long he will be out] exactly. Weekend not sure, maybe Milan, after that definitely.”

The news will come as a huge relief for Liverpool as Thiago has been in terrific form lately so it’s a big boost that he’s not facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Diaz fit

There is also positive news on the fitness of Diaz. Liverpool’s January signing impressed again during the win over Chelsea on Sunday before being subbed in extra time sparking fears he may have picked up a knock.

However, Klopp has confirmed Diaz was just suffering from fatigue following an intense battle with Chelsea and didn’t sustain any injury at Wembley.

When asked if Diaz was just fatigued, Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com:

‘Just’ fatigue? Fatigue is enough. Yeah, he did really well [in the final]. He had nothing, we just took him off because we saw he got tired. He was tired earlier but he was still fighting really hard.”

Klopp didn’t provide any update on the condition of Roberto Firmino today. The Brazilian international missed the League Cup final due to a groin problem and isn’t expected to feature against Norwich tomorrow.

The Reds are set to make several changes from the side that beat Chelsea with the likes of Ibrahima Konate, Kostas Tsimikas, James Milner, Harvey Elliott, Diogo Jota and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all pushing for starts.