Virgil van Dijk provided Liverpool fans with an injury update on Ibrahima Konate after the Frenchman was forced off during the win over Brighton this afternoon.
Anfield frustrations at a dire first-half performance and a 0-1 deficit were compounded by the sight of our number 5 holding his arm in a makeshift sling and looking in some distress as he walked towards the dressing room.
Thankfully his teammates did the needful in the second half to secure a priceless victory, and the captain shared what he could decipher from the body blow shortly after the full-time whistle.
Speaking to Sky Sports (via BBC Sport, 17:11) Van Dijk explained: “So many bodies around the ball and I think I headed him on his arm. Hopefully it is not too bad. We just have to see. You can be quite okay as player with an arm injury so hopefully he will be fine.”
Hopefully Konate isn’t badly injured
Obviously it’s far too early to get a clear picture on how severe the injury to Konate is, and how long he might be sidelined if it’s as serious as it initially looked, but Van Dijk’s post-match comments suggest that his centre-back partner mightn’t be too badly affected.
With Liverpool already shorn of a few players due to various concerns, Arne Slot certainly didn’t need the sight of another regular starter looking in agony as he made his way off the pitch this afternoon.
The silver lining for the Reds was that Joe Gomez stepped up for his team when he came on for the Frenchman for the second half, putting in a crucial block on Danny Welbeck shortly after Mo Salah had scored what proved to be the winning goal.
We know that Konate is made of tough stuff, and hopefully we’ll see him back in action sooner rather than later once he’s had a thorough medical assessment and we get a clearer picture of the injury.
