Arne Slot gives Ibrahima Konate injury update with Liverpool star leaving pitch in agony
Liverpool star Ibrahima Konate was withdrawn midway through the Reds’ success against Brighton on Saturday and Arne Slot has now issued an update on the defender
by Daniel Orme · The MirrorIbrahima Konate was left in “a lot of pain” ahead of his half-time exit against Brighton, according to Arne Slot.
The French defender was named in Liverpool’s 2-1 victory against the Seagulls on Saturday. But he only lasted until half-time after a heavy fall in the visitors' penalty area.
Konate underwent lengthy treatment from the Reds’ medical staff before leaving the pitch with his arm in a makeshift sling made out of his shirt. And he did not re-emerge after the break as Slot opted to replace him with fellow defender Joe Gomez.
The Liverpool boss has now offered an update on Konate’s condition and revealed that the defender's reaction forced him into a substitution. Speaking post-match, the Dutchman said: "We don’t know yet. He had a lot of pain, but he hasn't been to the hospital yet - and maybe it is not even necessary to go to the hospital, I don't know.
"It is always difficult to judge an injury in the first hour or first 10 minutes after it happens. Let's hope he can be with us as soon as possible because he had a big impact on our season until now. But Joe deserved the trust I gave him today because he played outstanding in the second half."
He added: “It was not only the first half that was a big disappointment, there was also the disappointment that [Konate] had to go off because he has been really good for us the whole season.
"The good thing is in that position I have two very good options as well with Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez. I took Jarell off five minutes before the end in Brighton because for 20 minutes he was already stretching and I could feel and see that he was tired, which is not so strange because he hasn't played that much.
"Then, with 45 minutes to go, I felt I had to bring someone in that is fitter than Jarell was during the week."
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Meanwhile, Konate’s defensive partner Virgil van Dijk has opened up on the incident that saw the Frenchman injured. He was also hopeful that he shouldn’t be sidelined for too long.
He said: “So many bodies around the ball, and I think I headed him on his arm. Hopefully, it is not too bad. We just have to see. You can be quite OK as a player with an arm injury, so hopefully, he will be fine.”
Liverpool will certainly hope that Konate is not sidelined for too long given the players that they are already without. Alisson, Harvey Elliott, Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa are all currently sidelined ahead of a tough run of fixtures that sees Liverpool go up against Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Villa and Southampton.
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