Liverpool midfielder Emre Can will miss his side’s clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has confirmed.
The German international has been struggling with a back injury, but naturally with the international break, Liverpool would undoubtedly have been hoping that it would be an opportunity for him to rest it, receive treatment and get back to action.
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However, as noted by The Express, Klopp confirmed in his press conference on Friday that he wouldn’t be available for selection against Palace, and so the German tactician will have to come up with a different solution to fill the void.
The 24-year-old has made 37 appearances in all competitions so far this season, and so his absence will be felt while it isn’t an ideal time of the campaign to be struggling with a setback, especially with a crucial Champions League game against Man City next week.
Klopp was a little more positive about his chances of featuring in that one though.
“Emre is out for the weekend. [He is] getting better and better and better, much better. Hopefully he can have a normal session with us on Sunday morning and then should be fine again.”
Meanwhile, there was more positive news when it came to Nathaniel Clyne, Dominic Solanke and Andy Robertson, as the Liverpool boss confirmed that all three have made good progress and will be at his disposal.
“Clyney is back. He played last week for the U23s. One or two games more would be nice but the situation is like it is. We have Clyney.
“He [Solanke] is fine and will be fine today, I hope. After training I’ll know more about that. It was a dead leg [for Robertson], no problem.”
Particularly with Joe Gomez suffering an injury while on international duty with England last week, the return of Clyne is great news for the Merseyside giants to fill the right-back position. Further, from his perspective, he’ll have his own late ambitions of proving himself to earn a spot on the plane to Russia for the World Cup this summer.