Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that Georginio Wijnaldum won’t feature in the Club World Cup semi-final against Monterrey but Virgil van Dijk is in fine condition to play.
Wijnaldum has been a regular for the Reds this season, scoring three goals in 24 appearances across all competitions. The Dutch international sustained an injury during last weekend’s fixture against Watford but travelled to Qatar for the FIFA Club World Cup.
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Klopp said that Wijnaldum is still recovering but won’t be available for today’s semifinal against Monterrey. Speaking to Liverpool’s official website, the Reds manager said: “He’s here doing the first recovery and then we have stuff what is necessary. So we will see day by day but for tomorrow night he’s not involved.”
With Wijnaldum not involved, it will be interesting to see the midfield trio that will start today. Jordan Henderson should start today alongside Naby Keita who has produced some fine performances lately. As far as the third spot is concerned, it could be either of James Milner, Adam Lallana, Xherdan Shaqiri or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Klopp delivered a more positive update on Virgil van Dijk, saying that the Dutchman is in good condition at the moment. The 52-year-old claimed: “Virgil is fine. We had to do different stuff for recovery for different people, so that was the reason why he was not involved yesterday in the session, but Virgil is fine.”
Liverpool are heavy favourites to win the Club World Cup and play their semi-final against Mexican club Monterrey. A win will take them to the final on Saturday where they’ll take on Flamengo, who beat Al-Hilal yesterday.