Arne Slot has offered a detailed update on Dominik Szoboszlai’s fitness ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening.
Liverpool will head into the North London fixture looking to extend their unbeaten run to six matches in all competitions.
However, they will be without Mohamed Salah, who is away with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.The Reds will, however, receive a double defensive boost.
Conor Bradley is available again after serving a one-match suspension. Also, Jeremie Frimpong will return to the squad after missing the last 12 games with a hamstring injury.
Slot also addressed the situations of Szoboszlai, Joe Gomez and Cody Gakpo during his pre-match press conference.
Gomez and Gakpo will both miss the clash, despite encouraging scan results for the latter. Slot said about Gakpo
“He had a scan that looked promising so that means that we are not that worried anymore, as we were maybe one or two weeks ago.
“So that means he might come back a bit earlier than expected two weeks ago, but that’s definitely not tomorrow and also not next week.”
Szoboszlai, who was forced off against Brighton with an ankle issue, remains a doubt but has taken a step forward. Slot said:
“Dominik trained yesterday, parts of the training, for the first time so let’s see where he is today and how he is tomorrow.”
Slot admitted he will not decide whether Szoboszlai can start until after Liverpool’s final training session.
If the Hungarian is not fit enough, the Liverpool boss faces a tactical decision on the right side. Frimpong only just returning and Federico Chiesa also pushing for an opportunity.
While talking about Frimpong, Slot said that he will be in squad for the Spurs game.
Saturday’s fixture could therefore hinge on late fitness calls, with Szoboszlai’s availability one of the key uncertainties.
Want to get the latest transfer news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.
