Liverpool central defender Ozan Kabak is ‘highly unlikely’ to play against Manchester United on Thursday, the Athletic report.
Kabak missed out on featuring for Liverpool in their 2-0 win over Southampton at the weekend.
After the game Jurgen Klopp was very coy over the defender’s issue, simply suggesting that Liverpool would have to wait and see whether he would recover in time to feature on Thursday.
But the Athletic’s latest update suggests that the Turkish defender won’t be available, despite Liverpool initially saying the problem was only ‘minor’.
They say that Kabak has a muscle issue, and the chances are that he will be sidelined again in midweek.
That is a big blow for Liverpool as Kabak surely would have started if he had been fit.
Without him their options at the back still do not look plentiful, with Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk all still sidelined.
Klopp has proven that he doesn’t trust Ben Davies to start despite signing him in January, so it now seems most likely that Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams will continue at the back, unless Fabinho shifts back into defence.
Phillips and Williams have generally done well when called upon this season, but they will be tested heavily against a Manchester United side, who have some real attacking weapons.
Kabak had looked very solid since stepping into Liverpool’s defence, and without his presence they could well be weakened in the coming games, which are coming thick and fast.
If Liverpool are to make the top four then they surely need to win all of their remaining fixtures.
But without Kabak their chances to rotate are reduced, and that could harm Klopp’s side in the middle of a very busy period for the Reds.
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