Arne Slot has shared the latest Liverpool injury and team news ahead of Monday’s FA Cup clash at home to Barnsley
Arne Slot is hopeful Hugo Ekitike will be fit for Liverpool’s FA Cup clash with Barnsley(Image: Marco BERTORELLO / AFP via Getty Images)
Arne Slot says Liverpool “will do everything” to ensure Hugo Ekitike is fit to feature against Barnsley in the FA Cup on Monday night. And the Reds boss also hinted that Federico Chiesa is in line for a recall for the third-round tie at Anfield.
Slot is expected to make changes when the League One strugglers visit Merseyside for the tie but given the lack of options up top right now, with Alexander Isak sidelined with a broken leg and Mohamed Salah at the Africa Cup of Nations, the Reds are looking to field Ekitike once more after he sat out the draws with Fulham and Arsenal.
Slot also confirmed Academy striker Jayden Danns and midfielder Wataru Endo won’t be ready for the game but insists his leading marksman will feature if he is fit enough after a couple of games on the sidelines.
READ MORE: BREAKING Conor Bradley season over after Liverpool confirm ‘significant knee injury’READ MORE: Liverpool urged to re-sign former player and target Man City star if they miss out on Marc Guehi
“Hugo, we are not 100% sure but we will do everything to have him available on Monday,” Slot said.
“I think if I am correct Wata (Endo) might start to train one of these days but he has been out for two months now, that is of course different from being out for one week, but Alex Isak is not going to be back yet and Mo Salah plays tomorrow (Egypt played Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday and won 3-2, with Salah scoring his country’s crucial third goal).“Danns is not fit enough, he is not even training. He is one of the players that got a stress fracture because he was young and was a bit over-trained.
“That is why we are so careful with Rio Ngumoha – that he is two days a week off the pitch if that is possible, (and we) do not have that same situation with him, but Jayden is definitely not available in the short term.”
On Chiesa, Slot added: “I spoke to him two days ago and he said he played more in the recent weeks than he ever did before under me but he is one of the players that could feature in that game, definitely.
“But like I said Hugo might be back so let’s see how we might start that game and he is one of the options that I have so let’s see.”
Liverpool will now have a second defender out for the rest of the season, following Giovanni Leoni, after they confirmed that right-back Conor Bradley had sustained a “significant knee injury” in Thursday’s 0-0 draw at Arsenal.
For the latest Liverpool FC news and breaking news, visit liverpoolecho.co.uk/all-about/liverpool-fc. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.
Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @LivEchoLFC – the official Liverpool ECHO LFC Twitter account – for all the latest LFC news as it happens in real time.
We’re also on FaceookLiverpoolEchoLFC – your must-see LFC news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.
Listen to our podcasts by searching for ‘Blood Red’ wherever you get your podcasts.
Sign up for one of the Liverpool Echo’s free daily and weekly newsletters on Liverpool by clicking here.
