Liverpool’s injury crisis has intensified with Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones ruled out of this weekend’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea.
Scans have confirmed the pair face a spell on the sidelines and will be unavailable for the Wembley final, when Liverpool will also be without Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Alisson are also big doubts due to hamstring problems.
Jota and Jones were taken off in the first half of the 4-1 win at Brentford on Saturday with respective knee and ankle injuries.
Liverpool will wait for further tests before setting a timetable for his recovery, but there are concerns that Jota faces up to two months out with his knee injury.
Liverpool striker Diogo Jota ruled out of Carabao Cup final this weekend
Curtis Jones will also be forced to sit out the clash with Chelsea due to an ankle problem.
Jurgen Klopp will be without many first-team regulars as his injury crisis intensifies
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Alexander-Arnold will be absent against Chelsea after aggravating a knee ligament injury, while goalkeeper Alisson suffered a hamstring problem in training on Friday.
Striker Darwin Nunez added to Liverpool’s concerns when he complained of a muscle problem that led to his substitution at half-time at Brentford.
Thiago Alcántara, Stefan Bajcetic, Joel Matip and Ben Doak are also out with long-term injury problems.
Klopp therefore faces a difficult run of games without several key men, knowing that the points dropped will allow Manchester City and Arsenal to return to the title race.
Jota’s injury against Brentford, in particular, looked like it could be serious.
Brentford’s play fell heavily on the Portuguese’s knee and he had to be taken off on a stretcher. It appears this is not a torn ACL, which would have ended his season and ruled him out of Euro 2024, but will still leave him out of action for much of the remaining season.
Darwin Núñez is another one who has a slight problem and the Reds are exhausted
Liverpool have silverware up for grabs against Chelsea on Sunday after playing Luton on Wednesday.
The Reds will then face a tough trip to Nottingham Forest before hosting Manchester City at Anfield and then the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. Facing Manchester United at Old Trafford on April 6 makes the series of matches look even more daunting.
So far, Klopp’s team has coped well with the absences, but if their ranks are reduced further their title aspirations could be terminal.