Liverpool are waiting for a more detailed assessment on the fitness of centre back Ibrahima Konaté, who was worryingly forced off early in the second half of Saturday’s defeat to Chelsea after “alarm bells” went off for Arne Slot.
Although his form has been considerably patchy this season, Konaté has started all nine games that Liverpool have played in the Premier League and Champions League so far. The Frenchman has been the preferred partner for Virgil van Dijk since the start of 2024–25.
With the Reds trailing and in need of a goal when Konaté limped off 56 minutes in, Arne Slot opted for a tactical switch, rather than a like-for-like swap, that saw midfielder Curtis Jones substituted in. Ryan Gravenberch completed the match at the back in a deep-lying playmaker role.
But, after selling Jarell Quansah in the summer and losing summer signing Giovanni Leoni to long-term injury last month, Joe Gomez is the only recognised centre back now available to partner Van Dijk.
The October international break has given Liverpool some breathing room, but it means there is no senior cover in the middle of defence if Konaté is ruled out for anything more than 10 days.
Slot suggested after the Chelsea game that Konaté was immediately withdrawn at the first sign of a potential problem to avoid it becoming a more catastrophic injury, perhaps with the depth issue factoring into that quick decision. He was already thinking about hooking the 26-year-old for tactical reasons anyway, noting that Konaté was struggling to use the ball well.
“I don’t know if it is a big injury, but what I do know is he limped a little bit and when I asked him he said he felt his quad a little bit. Then, for me, all alarm bells go off because in another sprint you never know if that is going to go good,” the Liverpool boss explained.
“It was also already a substitution I had in mind, maybe for a few minutes or a little bit later, because the right centre back had a lot of ball possession and we needed to create from that position. We all know Ryan is quite good in that. It might be okay that he went off early enough but it was clear I had to take him off because he was limping.”
Konaté’s Liverpool Future Still Uncertain
In that scenario, Konaté could reach the end of his contract and become a free agent, with Real Marid and Paris Saint-Germain the clubs most prominently linked with a move.
The alternative for Liverpool, should he show little interest in extending his stay at Anfield, is to try and find a buyer in the January transfer window. That could tie in with the club’s own ambitions to recruit Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi, also out of contract next summer. Yet the concerning overall lack of depth might warrant the pursuit of two centre-backs this winter should Konaté be on his way.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Alarm Bells’—Arne Slot Confirms Concerning Ibrahima Konate Injury Blow.
