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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Alex Milne

Joe Gomez injury could see Jurgen Klopp revert to 'Mascherano' plan

Liverpool's latest injury casualty could see Jurgen Klopp get creative with his defence as his options at the back begin to run out.

Joe Gomez reportedly picked up a serious-looking injury during England training on Wednesday, and he could well join Virgil van Dijk on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.

With the injury-prone Joel Matip and Fabinho the only other two senior centre-backs available to Klopp, the German has been left with a big decision to make.

Either he puts his faith in youth, with the likes of 19-year-old Rhys Williams and 18-year-old Sepp van den Berg possible options.

Joe Gomez looks set to join Virgil van Dijk on the sidelines for Liverpool (AFP via Getty Images)

Or he could revert to a previously-mentioned backup plan - with former Reds man Javier Mascherano proving an inspiration.

Mascherano played for Liverpool for four seasons before moving to Barcelona, and despite spending the majority of his career as a defensive midfielder he ended up becoming a centre-back further down the line.

And as recently as last month Klopp mentioned a number of his players who could potentially make a similar move to that of Mascherano.

Javier Mascherano started his career as a central midfielder but later converted into a centre-back (Getty Images Europe)

Speaking ahead of his side's match against West Ham, when asked about his troubles in the centre-back position Klopp said: "We have other options like [Jordan] Henderson, or Gini [Wijnaldum] or James [Milner], or Robbo (Andy Robertson), he can play centre-half as well.

"They are all not smaller than Javier Mascherano, for example, and he played pretty well in that position [for Barcelona]."

Considering Liverpool have a far greater strength in depth in both the central midfield and full-back positions than they do in central defence, perhaps the idea does not seem too far-fetched.

Jurgen Klopp may have a plan up his sleeve (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

If either Henderson or Wijnaldum filled in at the back, for example, the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Curtis Jones could slot in in midfield, while Robertson or Milner could be covered by the likes of Kostas Tsimikas at full-back.

Judging by Klopp's comments, this is certainly a scenario the German boss has thought about before, and it will be intriguing to see what line-up he goes for after the international break when the Reds take on league leaders Leicester City.

Supporters may just be in for a surprise or two.

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