Liverpool have been handed an injury boost after Joe Gomez avoided suffering any serious damage when injuring his ankle against Southampton on Tuesday night.
The defender was forced off shortly before the half-time interval at St. Mary’s after Mohammed Salisu landed on his ankle, and was replaced by Jordan Henderson having slowly limped down the tunnel at the break after receiving treatment on the pitch.
Having had awful luck with injuries in the past, his Reds team-mates were understandably concerned at the sight of the 24-year-old injured against the Saints, while he was later seen leaving St. Mary’s on crutches and with a protective boot on his left foot.
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However, Jurgen Klopp played down fears that Gomez had suffered a serious injury when speaking to reporters after Liverpool's 2-1 victory, as he confirmed the England international was in good spirits despite suffering the injury scare on the eve of the Champions League final.
“I hope we were lucky. Joe himself has pain but not too much,” the Reds boss said. “He got a real shock to the system in the foot. But he’s sitting in the dressing room and when I spoke to him he was in a good mood.
“Maybe we were probably lucky but we have to figure that out.”
The ECHO understands that Gomez has now had a scan, with it showing no signs of serious damage. However, the defender’s ankle is still heavily swollen with the Reds needing to see how that settles down before being able to make a definitive decision on whether he could play again before the end of the season.
But it is a positive outcome for the 24-year-old and for Liverpool, with them not ruling the defender out and confident that he could return for the Champions League final, with Gomez now poised to join Fabinho, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk in working with returning physio Christopher Rohrbeck and looking to prove their fitness in time to face Real Madrid in Paris on May 28.
