- Matip has had his troubles with injury concerns this season
- Liverpool will miss his commanding presence in defence against Brighton
- Reds fans not happy with his worrying track record
- READ MORE: Barcelona know staggering figure it will take to sign Philippe Coutinho in January, fee revealed
Liverpool defender Joel Matip has been ruled out of his side’s meeting with Brighton this weekend after suffering an injury setback.
As per the Liverpool Echo, the 26-year-old picked up a problem after the win over Stoke City in midweek, with a muscle injury now ruling him out this weekend.
Although he’s made 19 appearances in all competitions so far this season, he has picked up a number of knocks along the way which have made him a doubt to feature at times. It clearly is becoming a source of great concern for the supporters below on Twitter.
Given that the Reds have the worst defensive record of the top seven sides in the Premier League table having conceded 18 goals in 14 games, the last thing that Jurgen Klopp will want is having to chop and change his backline.
That’s seemingly what he’ll have to do this weekend, with either Ragnar Klavan stepping in to fill the void, or if Klopp prefers he could look at Joe Gomez in that position until Matip returns to action.
With a key game against Spartak Moscow next week to seal qualification for the knockout stage of the Champions League, followed by a busy lead-up to the festive period which includes the Merseyside derby next weekend, the last thing Klopp wants is to see Matip out for an extended period of time.
Matip – made of bloody glass. We need two central defenders.
— Mossy Egan (@mosstinpowers) December 1, 2017
Matip is a decent CB but honestly i think he’s too fragile. The lad is made of glass ?
— TheBlackSuarez? (@k_dredz) December 1, 2017
Matip injured again… can’t rely on this lad long term, ludicrous injury record at this point, probably need 2 top CBs in the summer at this rate… #LFC
— james (@WijnaldoLol) December 1, 2017
Matip injured now. Honestly, our CBs are a joke with how many injuries they get. Buy two lads who don’t pick up constant injuries.
— James (@Save_Us_Kloppo) December 1, 2017
Matip injured again ?
— Andy (@AndyTheRed83) December 1, 2017
This season has been Matip fit Lovren out Lovren fit Matip out both bang average defenders first choice and can’t stay fit. #LFC
— Wajid (@w47id) December 1, 2017
Matip’s fitness is a joke. Made of Ryvita him and Lovren
— Regi (@Red_Regi) December 1, 2017
Joel Matip ruled out of the Brighton match this weekend. Not to worry, Liverpool don’t have any defensive issues. pic.twitter.com/dj99eYRKeO
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) December 1, 2017