Arne Slot opened up on Joe Gomez's fresh injury scare as he provided an update on the Liverpool star's condition ahead of Merseyside derby.

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• Gomez left the pitch after 11 minutes against Plymouth
• Back in first-team for first time since December 29
• Plymouth beat Liverpool 1-0 in FA Cup shock

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Gomez returned to the Liverpool lineup for the first time since December 29 following a hamstring injury. He was handed the captain's armband, but the defender lasted only 11 minutes on the pitch before he was forced off and replaced by academy player Isaac Mabaya, who made his debut for the Reds. Gomez's absence hurt the Reds badly as they eventually lost the tie 1-0 against Plymouth Argyle and crashed out of the FA Cup.

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• WHAT ARNE SLOT SAID

  Speaking to reporters after the game, manager Slot provided an update on the defender as he said: "I am not too sure. I am not too sure if it was the same leg, but I haven't had time to ask him. It was clear, I think we all know which moment he felt a bit insecure about [it] because he didn't sprint back fully.

  "Then he said: 'I am not 100 per cent sure and I am afraid if I make one extra sprint things will go wrong.' It's not torn I assume, but it didn't feel good for him. That was a bit of a blow because Curtis Jones was on the bench, but he came to me this morning and said, 'I don't think I am fully recovered yet' as well after the training session of yesterday."

  He added: "That all of a sudden led to the fact we were with a few more youngsters on the pitch than was the idea before the game, but still there was enough quality on the pitch to get a better result than this."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The Dutch coach heavily rotated his squad for the FA Cup fourth-round clash as he made nine changes in the starting lineup, with Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz being the only first-team regulars who featured from the beginning. The Premier League leaders lacked fluency throughout the game as the Championship side punished them with a second-half penalty goal to send them packing from the cup competition.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?

  The Reds will be back in action on Wednesday as they face archrivals Everton in the last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.

Tags: Futebol
Category: News